The Master’s University men’s basketball team opened up the Cactus Classic with a 91-64 win over Montana Western Saturday, Dec. 14 in Glendale, Ariz.

The Mustangs (10-2) shot nearly 50 percent (35 of 71) from the field and held the Bulldogs to under 32 percent in the bounce-back win after a tough road loss to the UC Merced Bobcats on Dec. 5.

TMU dropped two places to No. 9 in this week’s NAIA Top 25 poll after the loss to UC Merced.

TMU opened up a 15-point lead at the half (41-26) behind All-American Kaleb Lowery’s 18 points in the first 20 minutes. The two-time GSAC Player of the Year made seven of nine shots in the first half and added six rebounds going into the break.

The Mustangs continued the pressure on both ends of the floor in the second half, pouring in 50 while allowing 38 from Montana Western to come away with the 27-point win.

Lowery led all scorers with 27 points while pulling down eight rebounds. Jaren Nafarrete, in just 20 minutes on the floor, hit five three-pointers on his way to posting 21, with Miles Mendes adding 11 points on a perfect five for five from the floor.

“Really solid defensive effort,” said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. “It was fun to see Jaren get it going. It was a great team effort tonight.”

Ther Master’s will next play on Monday, Dec. 16 in the Cactus Classic against Montana State University-Northern. TMU will finish off the Cactus Classic on Tuesday, Dec. 17, when they take on No. 6 Montana Tech. Both games are currently scheduled to start at 2 p.m. PT.

For more information visit GoMustangs.com.