Mustangs top Justice in back-to-back games

For the second night in a row, No. 18-ranked The Master's men's basketball team took on Justice College (AZ), and for the second night in a row the Mustangs won the game, this time winning 86-66 Saturday in The MacArthur Center.

And just like the previous game, the Mustangs (8-2) first-half defense proved stout, limiting the Lions to 10 of 25 from the field and just 1 of 10 from 3-point range.

Justice shot 46% in the second half, but again were held in check from long range, hitting just 2 of 12 to finish the night 3 for 22

"I thought we were better defensively tonight," said TMU Had Coach Kelvin Starr. "I thought in particular our first half defense was better. Sometimes it's hard when you are up by a lot, but it's all about the process, and every game you play prepares you for the rest of the season. So it's important to stay locked into the process so we can be winning those big games down the stretch."

The first 10 minutes of the game stayed close, with TMU holding a 20-18 lead with 9:49 to play in the half. That's when a spark finally ignited the Mustangs' fuel, sending them on a 16-5 run over the next seven-plus minutes to go up by 13.

TMU led 39-27 at the half, out-rebounding the Lions 24-9 in the half, including a 10-1 difference in offensive rebounds that led to seven additional second-chance points.

And while the Lions used the drive effectively again coming out of the locker room, the Mustangs responded, hitting 15 of 25 shots (60%) in the second half to open up as much as a 23-point lead.

"Those second-half numbers... that's pretty high-level execution," Starr said. "We were trying to be more intentional in the second half and we did a pretty god job of that. But give Justice credit. They competed all night. But we did what we had to do to  get a good win."
 
Ty Harper led The Master's with 22 points, followed by Kaleb Lowery with 18. Jordan Caruso earned the double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Caden Starr hit four 3s and finished with 13 points.

The Master's will travel to Arizona next week for the annual Cactus Classic. They start with No. 21 Rocky Mountain College (MT) on Friday with a 3 p.m. PT tip-off. The Mustangs will also play Carroll College and Montana Western over the four days in Arizona.