The Master's University men's basketball team should have plenty of momentum heading into next week's Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Mustangs beat Menlo College 75-67 on Saturday inside The MacArthur Center, marking the team's sixth win in its last seven games.
The Mustangs — who have now won at least 20 games in seven straight seasons — received a bye in the GSAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. They'll play Friday in the semifinals at 7:15 p.m. at Hope International University.
Kaleb Lowery — whose last-second block sealed Thursday's victory over Jessup University — led TMU with 20 points, 17 rebounds, and four blocks Saturday.
Christian Sweazie and
Victor Ohia Obioha each added 13 points, and
Caden Starr had 11 points off the bench.
Before the game, the team honored its four seniors: Sweazie, Ohia Obioha,
TJ Lowery, and
Jordan Starr.
"I was super happy for our seniors to go out with a win at home, especially Jordan and TJ who have spent five years competing for TMU," said head coach Kelvin Starr. "We are playing well heading into the postseason, but there's still a ton of room for improvement."
The Mustangs (20-7, 13-5 GSAC) built an 11-point lead midway through the first half, but saw it cut to five at the break. During that span, senior forward Corey Le'aupepe had 12 points for Menlo, which outscored TMU by six in the paint.
TMU returned the favor by outpacing the Oaks 24-12 in the paint over the game's final 20 minutes. Le'aupepe finished with a team-high 19 points for Menlo (16-12, 7-11).
Kaleb Lowery had 13 points in the second half, including a powerful, one-handed dunk.
TJ Lowery had seven points for TMU, which built a commanding 15-point lead shortly before the four-minute mark in the second half. The Mustangs, who received votes in the most recent NAIA Top 25, never trailed in the game.
