The Master's suffers second defeat in a row against Redhawks

The Master's University basketball team suffered its second defeat in a row against Benedictine Mesa University, 81-70 on Thursday.

Avery Jackson had 16 points to lead TMU, despite sitting most of the first half with foul trouble.

The Master's got out to a hot start, nailing four shots from distance in the opening minutes to take a 12-2 lead. They were able to hold their lead for a majority of the first half, until BenU climbed back into the game and took the lead back at 24-23 with six minutes remaining in the first half. 

BenU kept the momentum and went on a run of their own. The Redhawks were able to build their lead up to 12 points before a Tiago Soares 3-pointer brought the lead down to just nine at the break.

Quincy Phillips led the Mustangs with nine points at halftime but BenU shot over 56% and grabbed six offensive rebounds to maintain their advantage.

TMU narrowed the gap down to just a few points at multiple points in the second half, including a three-point lead at the 17:23 mark and just two points with 11:07 to go. However, every time TMU would close down the gap, BenU would respond. 

With five and half minutes to go, TMU trailed by just five points but the Redhawks expanded their lead back to double digits and were able to hold on to an 11-point win.

"We did not play well enough to get the job done on the road against a really good BenU team," TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr "With a quick turnaround, we will have to regroup and find a way to compete with Park Gilbert." 

Jazen Guillory had 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Nate Boatkye had 11 points and four assists off the bench on 5 of 7 shooting.

TMU will play next against Park Gilbert on Saturday in Gilbert, Ariz.