Santa Clarita, Calif. — In a season of mounting losses, this one had to be the toughest to take.

On the cusp of ending a 14-game losing streak, The Master’s College surrendered a 10-point lead with under two minutes remaining and lost a heartbreaker to visiting Vanguard, 67-65.

The Mustangs fell to 1-13 in the GSAC and 4-18 overall.

The Mustangs built that 10-point (64-54) advantage on the strength of a late 10-0 run over a 4:27 span. A Harrison White (Winston-Salem, NC) dunk off a superb pass from Reid Shackelford (Murrieta, CA) at the 6:17 mark sparked the burst. Capped off by a Philip Webb (Georgetown, Cayman Islands) free throw with 1:50 remaining, the skein had the Mustangs in position to win for the first time since December 10.

However, the Lions sandwiched a couple of three-pointers around a jumper in a 40-second window, pulling within 64-62 with 1:10 left to play. Harassed into turnovers and missing clutch free throws, the Mustangs couldn’t deal with the fast-closing Lions who vaulted in front on a three-pointer with 31 seconds remaining and then added another point on a charity toss with four seconds left.

The Mustangs had one last shot and Shackelford’s heave from behind the three-point line almost went in, banking off the backboard and lingering around the rim before falling off. It sent home a silent crowd that was anticipating a much-needed win only minutes earlier.

The Mustangs kept the fans around all evening with some of their most competitive play of the season. It started with a an 11-1 run after the Lions scored the game’s first five points. Shackelford ignited the burst with a three-point play, he added a trifecta along the way, and Kaleb Anderson (Clovis, CA) closed it out with a jumper at the 14:49 mark of the opening half.

Staying in front for the next seven minutes, the Mustangs fell behind by as many as three points (24-21), and then ripped off a 6-1 skein to take a 31-28 advantage at halftime.

After Anderson opened the second half with a jumper, the two clubs embarked on a back-and-forth trip for the next 13 minutes that featured nine ties and eight lead changes. White’s dunk and a Shackelford three-pointer, his second of the evening, extended the lead to 59-54 and the Mustangs looked to be very much in control. That was true until the final two minutes.

Shackelford tied for game-high scoring honors with 20 points while Webb was the only other Mustang in double figures with 10 more while taking down a team-high 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the campaign.

After shooting just 37% (10-27) from the field in the first half, the Mustangs came back strong in the second stanza, hitting at a 50% (13-26) clip to finish at 43%.

Following the tough loss, head coach Ken Sugarman praised his team’s effort, saying, “I am very proud of my team tonight. We played with passion and togetherness. Our defense was focused and intense all game. I feel for my guys to lose a game like that but I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

The Mustangs will have two more chances to play like that, starting at Westmont this Thursday evening.