Before a near capacity crowd in The MacArthur Center, the No. 9-ranked Master's men's basketball team opened the 2025-26 season with an 86-79 loss to the Our Lady of the Lake (TX) Saints Thursday night.
The Mustangs shot 25 of 69 (36%), including 9 of 23 from 3-point range, and hit 20 of 25 (80%) from the free throw line.
But the Saints pulled down 53 rebounds compared to TMU's 44, including 17 offensive rebounds that led to 40 points in the paint.
"We just got manhandled and we're not in good enough shape," said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. "It's a good wake up call for us. We're not ready. (The players) have to understand respect and winning culture is earned."
The Master's started off well, jumping out to an 11-4 lead. But Saints' 3-pointers allowed them to catch up to the Mustangs and pass them, opening up as much as a 9-point lead before going to the locker room ahead 36-30.
In the second half, both teams became even more efficient with their long-range shots, with The Master's hitting 6 of 10 and the Saints dropping 5 of 9.
And while the Mustangs were able to get to within a point, the Saints pulled away, opening up double-digit leads before free throws at the end made it a 7-point difference.
"You have to be prepared for the greater physicality of the college level," Coach Starr said. "We have a new group but we are going to work to get better. But I give OLL credit. They flew across a couple of time zones, played a late game and they outplayed us. So all the credit goes to them."
Parker Tuttle led TMU with 24 points followed by
Quincy Phillips with 15 and 12 apiece for
Avery Jackson and
Nate Boakye. Both Philips and Boakye pulled down six rebounds each.
The Master's will look to bounce back Saturday night as they host the Providence (MT) Argos in The MacArthur Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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