Derrick Fain

Looking in midseason form, junior Derrick Fain scored a game-high 30 points and Zach Stalin posted a double-double as The Master’s College put away Alaska-Anchorage 90-78 in an exhibition game Monday evening on Bross Court.

Getting their first look at the 2013-14 edition of the Mustangs, fans were impressed by a squad that shot the ball well and rebounded with tenacity while trailing only three times early before bolting ahead for good.

Down 12-11 with 13:10 left in the first half, Fain (Dallas, TX) drained the first of his four three-pointers, igniting a decisive 11-0 run that freshman Reid Shackelford (Murrieta, CA) capped off with a trifecta of his own just over two minutes later for a 22-12 lead.

Another Fain trey, this one coming at the 9:03 mark, gave the Mustangs their largest lead of the half (29-17) and when the Seawolves closed to 36-31 almost six minutes later, Stalin canned a pair of free throws to spark a 10-4 burst that sent the club to the locker room ahead 46-35.

Over the opening 20 minutes, the Mustangs shot a crisp 56.3% (18-32) from the field while holding the Seawolves to 37% (13-35) accuracy.

Coming out of halftime, Stalin (Bellingham, WA) converted a three-point play and the Mustangs were off and running, never leading by less than nine points the rest of the way.  They enjoyed their largest lead of the game at 74-57 when Chris Patureau (Houston, TX) scored on a layup with 7:08 left to play.

En route to his game-high total, Fain went 12-20 from the field, including 4-7 from behind the arc.  Stalin complemented him with 18 points in his debut before the home crowd and made it a double-double by taking down a game-best 10 rebounds.  Jason Logan, who threw down a trio of highlight-reel dunks, was the only other Mustang in double figures, tossing in 16 points and hauling down eight rebounds.

The club hit 50% of its shots (16-32) in the second half and finished the evening at 53% (34-64) while outrebounding the visitors 43-37.

Hoping to use a quality tune-up as a starting point, the Mustangs now turn their attention to the regular-season opener Thursday evening when they welcome West Coast Baptist to Bross Gym for a 7:00pm start.