The Master's men's basketball team got their fourth win in a row Wednesday night, defeating the La Sierra Golden Eagles 74-46 in The MacArthur Center.
The Mustangs (4-1) held the Golden Eagles to just 25% shooting from the field (14-of-56), and the same 25% from 3-point range (6-of-24).
At the same time the offense shot 50% (28-of-56) but also struggled to hit the long ball (6-of-22).
"I thought the defense was very good the whole night," said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. "Very disciplined with few breakdowns. We did a very good job of that. We are trying to make certain we stay locked in there (on defense). It's been a point of emphasis in practice, and everything we do is in preparation for conference games."
Offensively it was a struggle in the first half as TMU didn't get 10 points on the board until the 13:26 mark. For a team that averaged 95 points per game over the first four games this season, which is No. 1 in the GSAC and No. 9 in the nation, the Mustangs were finding it hard to get the ball to drop through the cylinder.
"We got a little stagnant because (La Sierra) did a good job of running the shot clock down," Coach Starr said. "But our focus tonight was on the defensive end of the game, not the offense. And we did a good job of that."
The Master's led 35-17 at the half, extending the lead to as much as 31 in the second half before settling with the 28-point win.
Four Mustangs scored in double figures, led by
Kaleb Lowery's 15,
Ty Harper with 13, and 11 points apiece for
Jordan Caruso and
Kamrin Oriol.
Deaken Stangl came off the bench to lead the team with nine rebounds, with Caruso adding eight boards and providing six assists as well.
The Master's will be back in The MacArthur Center on Tuesday when they face Stanton University for the first time. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
