Box Score Five players scored in double figures as The Master's men's basketball team, ranked No. 18 in the NAIA, knocked off No. 25 Florida Memorial University 95-86 in Miami Gardens, Fla. Thursday night.
The Mustangs (6-1) were 7 of 14 from 3-point range in the second half to lead by as much as 21 with 4:21 to play in the game. TMU finished the night 29 of 60 (49%) from the field, 16 of 34 (47%) from 3-point range.
"Just a great team win," said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. "We shot the ball really well, especially in that second half, and we had to overcome some foul trouble. All things considered, traveling across the country, playing a ranked opponent, it was a good team win."
The game was tied 28-28 with 6:55 to play in the first half when TMU went on a 17-6 run in the next 4:10 to go up by 11 before settling for a 47-38 halftime lead.
Tiago Soares,
Deaken Stangl and Mile Mendes all came off the bench during that stretch to get key buckets and strong rebounds.
"Our bench was big for us in the first half," Starr said.
TMU shot 44% from the field in the first half, including 9 of 20 from 3-point range and 6 of 9 from the line, and committed just three turnovers. The defense held FMU to under 40% and 0 for 6 from long range.
But FMU came out of the locker room on a mission, cutting the lead down to one in the first 3:46 of the second half. That's when the Mustangs responded, hitting those threes on a 35-15 run over the next 12 minutes of the game to take control.
Jordan Caruso had a season-high 22 points, hitting 8 of 14 from the field, including three 3s.
Ty Harper finished with 19 points,
Caden Starr had 18,
Kaleb Lowery 16 with a team-high eight rebounds, and
Kamrin Oriol had 12.
The Master's will have less than 24 hours before the tip of their next game against Keiser University at 6 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. PT Friday.
