Behind 28 points from
Kamrin Oriol and 26 from
Ty Harper, The Master's men's basketball team defeated the Vanguard Lions 76-62 Thursday at The MacArthur Center.
The Mustangs' defense came to play as they held the Lions to 6 of 31 (19%) shooting in the first half, 23 of 66 (34%) for the entire game.
"I was really happy with our defensive effort until about nine minutes to go in the game," said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. "I loved our intensity and our physical play. We got back to the way we should be playing defensively."
TMU jumped out to a 37-17 lead at the half thanks in large part to that defense. The Lions never hit a three and that struggle bled over to the free throw line, where Vanguard only made 5 of 13 in that first half.
Both teams played virtually equal in the second half, shooting better than 47%, each hitting five 3-pointers and each making six free throws. The Master's was able to build a 25-point lead with 9:06 to play, when Vanguard went on a 20-9 run to get within 14. But TMU hit their free throws down the stretch to take the 14-point win.
Oriol's 28 points was one shy of his career high he set on Jan. 12 at OUAZ. Following Harper's 26,
Kaleb Lowery picked up his eighth double-double of the season, dropping 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Jordan Caruso led the team with 12 boards.
"Kamrin just shot the ball so well, and I thought Kaleb had a really good game changing shots and blocking shots," Starr said. "I think offensively we can be better. We can't just rely on a couple of guys."
The Master's will be on the road Saturday in San Dimas, Calif. as they take on Life Pacific. The Warriors are 0-8 in conference play, but they took Hope International, a team that is 4-4 in the GSAC, to overtime Thursday night. Tip-off in San Dimas is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
