Box Score The Master's men's basketball team had to come from behind in the second half, but come from behind they did defeating the Montana Western Bulldogs 78-72 in the final game of the Cactus Classic Monday in Chandler, Ariz.
For the second game in a row, the Mustangs (10-3) used the offensive glass to their advantage, pulling down 14 offensive rebounds and allowing just four. Those rebounds led to 16 second chance points for TMU, while MWU had none.
"That comes from our offense," said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. "We have several good rebounders, and once you get the rebound those shots tend to be high-percentage shots. But overall we had to play very well to beat a very good team and we were able to come away with the win."
TMU took a 42-36 lead into the locker room. But the Bulldogs came out of the locker room on a 20-4 run to take the lead 56-47 with 13:29 to play.
That awoke the groggy Mustangs as they went on a 16-0 run to take the lead 63-56 with 8:52 to play.
"Those runs are going to happen," Coach Starr said. "You just have to make certain you stay within your game when they do, whether it's for you or against you."
MWU closed to within one point with 52 seconds to play. But a 3-pointer by
Caden Starr 28 seconds later gave the Mustangs a four-point lead that proved insurmountable. Two free throws by
Kaleb Lowery in the final second gave The Master's the six-point win.
Lowery finished with game highs in both points (26) and rebounds (15). Starr finished with four 3s and 20 points, with
Jordan Caruso finishing with 16 and
Kamrin Oriol 14.
The Master's will get the next 11 days off before returning to The MacArthur Center for their final non-conference match-up against Mount Royal University on Dec. 29. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
