Mustangs Move Back Into 2nd Place with Win

The Master's men's basketball team controlled the shooting, controlled the rebounding, and ultimately controlled the score as they defeated the San Diego Christian Hawks 72-65 Saturday night in The MacArthur Center.

The Mustangs shot 46% from the field, but more importantly held the Hawks to 35% while getting the advantage on the boards 44-29.

"I think we were elite defensively," said Head Coach Kelvin Starr. "The guys did a good job. Victor (Ohia Obioha) did such a good job cleaning up the paint, and (Christian) Sweazie absolutely shut down (Josh) O'Campo."

Sweazie was never more than three feet from the Hawks second-leading scorer all night, guarding him when he stood alone 90 feet from the basket or in his face when he had the basketball.

Ohia Obioha finished with nine rebounds and five blocks, all of which came in the first half, to go with eight points.

While the Mustangs never relinquished the lead in the first half, the game was tight. three times San Diego Christian tied the score, only to see TMU regain the lead and pull away but no more than four points. A 4-0 run to close out the first 20 minutes gave TMU their largest lead 32-26.

The second half started with The Master's scoring nine straight to open up a 15-point lead. But 15 Mustangs turnovers threatened to let the Hawks right back into the game. Yet the defense never let SDCC get closer than nine points. A 3-pointer by the Hawks' Ryan Blackmon with three seconds left in the game made the final score a seven-point difference.

"We were not shooting the ball really well and turning it over too much," Starr said. "Even with that, our mental approach was much better (tonight) than it was against Hope (on Thursday). We can't have as many turnovers as we had. We have to clean it up if we are going to make a run in the post-season."

Kaleb Lowery collected his eleventh double-double of the season, leading the Mustangs with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Sweazie finished with 14 points and Jordan Caruso had 10.
 
One thing that can't be overlooked is what The Master's basketball fans mean to this team. And with three of the final four games played at home, Coach Starr knows the sixth man for the Mustangs fills the stands.
 
"Even though we haven't shot real well, our fans have been good. They are always coming out and supporting us, and we feel it. We appreciate it."

"And I have to say, (SDC Head Coach) Dwayne Cosby has turned that program around," Coach Starr continued. "They have been competitive in every single game, so I really want to say hats off to him for what he has done in San Diego."

The Master's will be home Thursday against the Life Pacific Warriors. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.