The Master's men's basketball team moved to the top spot of the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) standings Saturday afternoon with an 84-68 win over the OUAZ Spirit in The MacArthur Center.
The Mustangs (19-6, 8-3) and OUAZ had been tied at the top of the GSAC going into the game.
TMU's defense held the Spirit to just 20 of 57 (35%) shooting from the field. OUAZ averaged 85.1 points per game coming into Saturday's action, hitting nearly 49% of their shots.
"I thought we did a great job on the defensive end both in the half court and transition," said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. "OUAZ is a potent offensive team."
For its part, The Master's shot 30 of 67 (45%), including 14 3-pointers. Five different Mustangs scored in double figures, led by
Kaleb Lowery's 19 points.
TMU jumped all over the Spirit in the first half, opening up a 47-34 halftime advantage. The Mustangs controlled the ball very well, committing just two turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.
The second half saw both defenses turning it up, but TMU was able to hold the double-digit lead, going up by as much as 18 several times in the final period, before finishing with the 16-point win.
Kamrin Oriol followed Lowery with 17 points of his own, with
Ty Harper,
Jordan Caruso and
Caden Starr each adding 11 points. Both Lowery and Harper had a team-high eight rebounds, with Caruso dishing a team-high nine assists.
"Twenty three assists reflects the selfless play on the offensive end," Starr said.
The Master's will travel next Saturday to take on Hope International in Fullerton, Calif. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.
