Avery Jackson scored 18 points and
Quincy Phillips added 17 to lead The Master's to a 70-59 win over the Corban University (OR) Warriors Friday night in The MacArthur Center.
Despite shooting 41% from the field and allowing the Warriors to hit 50%, the Mustangs (4-3) had 16 more shots creating more chances to score.
"We've had a lot of growing pains being a new group, and obviously we've laid a few eggs recently, so it was really important to come back, especially playing the same team," said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. "The win helps reinforce our culture. To me as a coach, I'm preaching all this stuff and when you get the win it is more about reinforcing what we are doing as a team."
TMU jumped out to a quick lead from the tip-off, scoring the first seven points of the game before Corban got on the board. The Warriors got to within two before the Mustangs pulled away for a 3-21 advantage going into the locker room.
Master's turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, ultimately forcing 21 Corban turnovers that led directly to 21 TMU points. By contrast, the Warriors could only get five points off the 10 Mustang turnovers.
The Master's led by as much as 16 points before claiming the 11-point win.
The victory came at a crucial time for the team still learning to come together as a group. The two losses last weekend in Arizona could have fractured the team, but Friday's win did more for the season than just a notch in the win column.
"We have room to grow and that's exciting," Coach Starr said. "We haven't had our full compliment out there yet and we will see where we end up. It's baby steps. I told the guys in the locker room that I want it to be a humble celebration. I'm excited to win the game of course because winning is not easy. But I also want to remain humble and stay true to what we are doing and the process. We are more physical, we have to grind it out and we have to be tough. And I thought tonight the defensive effort was phenomenal. Holding any team in the 50s is phenomenal."
One other piece of the puzzle that may have fallen into place is the return of Jackson, who had missed the last three weeks of games after suffering a concussion in the first game of the season. His return was more than encouraging for Coach Starr.
"It's great to have Avery back," he said. "Obviously we missed him. He's a great basketball player. He slides back in and has (18). So that was exciting."
Nate Boakye added 13 points and
Skyler Scull had a career-high 12. Scull and Phillips each dished three assists to lead the team.
"I think Skyler placed his best game since he's been here," Coach Starr said. "And that's because he just decided to play as a grown man tonight. It was good to have him out there doing that."
The Master's will be back in The MacArthur Center on Wednesday night when they host Nelson University (AZ). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
