Box Score

In football terms, it looked like blown coverage and a walk-in touchdown.

By the time Concordia’s Brian Chambers hauled in the three-quarter-court outlet pass, no one stood between him and a score-tying layup in the closing minutes of a game the Mustangs once led by 17.

He was alone. Until he wasn’t.

A sprinting Darryl McDowell-White left the floor and deflected the would-be two points. Mustang Hansel Atencia saved the ricochet along the baseline, and Master’s countered.

When Brock Gardner hit a 10-foot bank shot at the other end, a game the Mustangs led for all but three minutes felt far more secure.

Ultimately, Master’s men’s basketball held on Tuesday for an 80-73 exhibition win over NCAA Division 2 Concordia University Irvine on Bross Court.

McDowell-White’s hustle defense with 1:41 remaining and the Mustangs up 72-70 turned the tide. Atencia didn’t see the run-down block, but he saw the crowd’s reaction.

“That was crazy,” Atencia, who finished with a game-high 20 points, said of McDowell-White, a transfer from Fresno State. “… I just saw everyone get hyped, and I’m like, ‘Whoa, he’s so athletic.’”

Master’s closed the game on a 10-3 run to earn its second exhibition win of the season. The Mustangs beat NCAA D2 Azusa Pacific on Saturday night in another battle of former Golden State Athletic Conference rivals.

Master’s hadn’t met Concordia since the Eagles departed the GSAC and NAIA for D2 following the 2014-15 season. Tuesday’s reunion started fast.

The Mustangs scored the first six points, two coming on Tim Soares’ drive and dunk.

Master’s led by 17 with 6:34 left in the half, but led just 39-31 at the break.

From there, Concordia slowly chipped away, taking its first lead of the game at the 4:44 mark, 66-65. Master’s responded with a 5-1 run, capped by Lawrence Russell’s up-close bucket in traffic.

The Mustangs never trailed again.

“(In those late timeouts) we talked about how their team is relentless. They’re going to keep fighting,” McDowell-White said. “We’ve been practicing so hard for so long, our bodies are ready for this. We just had to keep pushing until the very end.”

McDowell-White (12 points) was one of five Mustangs to score in double figures. Atencia, Soares (15 points, 13 rebounds), Gardner (13 points) and Russell (12 points) were the others.

The Mustangs shot 76 percent from the field in the first half and 55 percent for the game. The only thing holding them back were turnovers, which totaled 24 by night’s end.

Still, the game was everything coach Kelvin Starr could ask for in the early stages of the season.

“A close game down the stretch against an elite team is great preparation for us for conference,” he said.

The Mustangs will travel to the University of Antelope Valley on Friday night before hosting Caltech on Saturday.