Game Recap By Mason Nesbitt, TMU Sports Information Director

In Darryl McDowell-White‘s estimation, Thursday’s regular-season finale was something of a tipping point.

The Mustangs had already claimed at least a share of their second straight Golden State Athletic Conference title, but the junior guard said the night’s matchup with Hope International held tremendous value – beyond simply claiming the crown outright.

“If we take care of it, we can walk around and say we won it by ourselves and go into the postseason confident and building on what we’ve done,” said McDowell-White. “Or we can fall back to what we’ve already done and have a tie championship and then we have to reboot the system again.”

No reboot will be necessary. The Mustangs played inspired defense and had three players score at least 20 points in a 100-86 win over the Royals, a team that received votes in the most recent NAIA Division 1 poll and that entered the night uncertain about its GSAC tournament prospects and with much to play for.

The No. 5-ranked Mustangs (25-5, 14-4 GSAC) played like a desperate team, however, surging from behind in the first half and holding off a second-half rally to avoid sharing the GSAC title with Vanguard.

Master’s – which will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament in Rocklin, California – became the first men’s team to win consecutive GSAC titles since Concordia Irvine won three straight from 2009-2012.

The Mustangs are also the owners of a 37-game home winning streak. The team hasn’t lost inside The MacArthur Center in back-to-back seasons.

Tim Soares led the Mustangs with 26 points Saturday, shooting the ball with ample confidence from outside the paint. The 6-foot-10 center made 8-of-13 shots, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

“When he starts making shots, the lane is so open for us and we can drive and kick and get better shots,” said point guard Hansel Atencia, who dished out 10 assists to go with six points.

Delewis Johnson scored 25 points and Brock Gardner added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Mustangs. Gardner had 14 points in the first half, when Master’s used a 20-2 run to climb out of an early hole.

The Mustangs’ focus was on better defending Hope’s ball screens. When the teams met in Fullerton on Feb. 7, TMU struggled to stop the screener from rolling to the basket and fell behind by 19 in the second half. Johnson called it a turning point in the season, each player letting go of personal ambition and buying into a team concept.

The Mustangs came all the way back to beat Hope and won their next five games. In Thursday’s rematch, Master’s hedged hard on Royal ball screens, with a help defender swooping over to pick up the screener as he rolled.

“Our defensive effort in the first half was unbelievable,” said coach Kelvin Starr, who was also pleased with the way his team made the extra pass and employed patience on offense.

The Mustangs dished out 23 assists on 35 baskets and continued to shoot better from three. Players and coaches attribute the improvement from distance – TMU has shot 44% on 93 attempts over its last four games – to film study aimed at helping players take the right threes: say, on a drive and kick instead of off the dribble and out of the flow of the offense.

McDowell-White has been the biggest beneficiary, his teammates finding him in the corner for open threes. He made 4-of-5 on Thursday, the third time in the last four games he’s made at least four treys and shot better than 57% from distance.

Despite the loss, Hope secured a bid to the GSAC tournament as the sixth seed. The Royals will play No. 19 William Jessup in the quarterfinals on March 7. Master’s will play the winner of Westmont and Arizona Christian in the semifinals on March 8 at 7:30 p.m.