Santa Clarita, Calif. — There are several reasons why Hope International is the nation’s seventh-ranked team.

All of the facets of the Royals’ game were on display Saturday evening in an 82-53 win over The Master’s College.  The loss was the Mustangs’ 14th in a row, dropping them to 4-17 overall and 1-12 in the GSAC.

The country’s fourth-best defense, holding opponents to just over 63 points per game, limited the Mustangs to a season-tying low 53.  Beating opponents by an average of nearly 17 points per game, the fifth-highest mark in the land, the Royals topped the Mustangs by 29.  Connecting on nearly 48% of their shots from the field (No. 10 in the NAIA) so far in 2015-16, the Royals shot at a crisp 53% (27-51) clip in their twenty-second win in 26 outings.

All of this started early as the Royals, spotting the Mustangs the first two points of the game (a Reid Shackelford basket), ripped off nine straight and held the hosts scoreless for over six minutes.  Although the Mustangs stayed within striking distance in the contest’s first 14 minutes, they were never able to catch the Royals.

The turning point in the game came in a four-minute span near the end of the half when the Royals clamped down on the Mustangs while their offense tore off 17 straight points, turning a five-point game into a 39-17 lead.  That barrage featured four consecutive three-pointers that eventually led to a 43-21 lead at the break.

Commenting on that flurry, Mustang head coach Ken Sugarman said, “I thought we fought hard but we couldn’t overcome the end of the first half when Hope hit four straight threes to get some separation.  We played them pretty even in the second half, but against a team as talented and deep as Hope, we couldn’t overcome a run like that.”

Delewis Johnson (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) paced the Mustangs with seven points at the break.

That halftime deficit grew to as many as 27 points (58-31) in the first seven minutes of the second half before the Mustangs showed some life.

A Kaleb Anderson (Clovis, CA) three-point play with 11:48 left to play ignited an 8-1 burst that pulled the Mustangs within 59-39 on a Shackelford layup at the 10:28 mark.

However, the Royals answered with a 13-5 skein that salted away the victory.

On a night when the Mustangs were held to a season-low 29.5% mark from the field, Shackelford and Johnson paced the Mustangs with 15 points apiece.  Anderson added 11 points and took down a team-high six rebounds.

In search of a skid-ending win, the Mustangs will take to the hardwood of Bross Court once again on Tuesday evening when they host Vanguard in a 7:30pm start.