The Mustangs pulled the upset on Saturday, defeating No. 10-ranked Arizona Christian University by a score of 91-82 in Glendale, Ariz.
Avery Jackson dropped a season-high 38 points along with nine rebounds to lead a Mustang offense that was clicking on all cylinders. TMU shot 53.6% from the field and made 24 free throws against a top-3 GSAC defense from the Firestorm.
The Master's had the early lead at 7-3, but ACU regained the advantage and a back-and-forth first half ensued. TMU took it back at 27-26, off
Tiago Soares' jumper, and the Mustangs had their largest first half lead at 33-28. But ACU went on a 16-2 run to close out the first half with a 9-point lead.
Despite shooting the ball quite well, TMU gave up 22 offensive rebounds to ACU and the Firestorm attempted 48 free throws off 33 fouls from The Master's. This forced TMU into second half foul trouble, with
Quincy Phillips,
Jazen Guillory, and
Caden DeVries all fouling out.
However, TMU continued to rally, instantly closing the gap down to one point in the first two minutes of the second half. Jackson led the second-half comeback with 22 points post-halftime and making 13 of his 16 free throws.
Jackson and Phillips propelled The Master's back in front by as many as 10 with nine minutes remaining but ACU cut down TMU's advantage to just one with 2 minutes left. But in the final moments, the Mustangs turned to Jackson who sank six free throws to give TMU a nine-point lead and ultimately the win.
Phillips scored 17 points and TMU had three other players in double figures, including
Caden DeVries,
Jazen Guillory, and
Brayden Miner, who sank a clutch three in the last 60 seconds.
The win moves TMU into second place in the GSAC, just behind Benedictine Mesa. The Mustangs will get a match up with Park Gilbert on Thursday in The MacArthur Center.
