The Master’s University men’s basketball team stayed in a tie for first place at the top of the GSAC standings with an 82-64 win over the Life Pacific Warriors Saturday night, Feb. 15 in San Dimas.

The Mustangs are tied with Arizona Christian at the top of the standings with identical 11-2 records. Hope International lost to Embry-Riddle earlier in the day to fall out of what was a three-way tie.

Against the Warriors, the No. 8-ranked The Master’s (23-4, 11-2) hit 33 of 75 (44 percent) shots and drained 12 of 31 (39 percent) from three-point range. TMU controlled the boards (44-37) and held LPU to under 40 percent from the field and only five threes.

“Any time you’re playing for a spot in the playoffs, especially on the road, and get a win it’s a big deal,” said Head Coach Kelvin Starr.

The Mustangs defense came out inspired in the first half, jumping out to a 41-20 lead at the break. The lead never got under 15 points in the second half and grew to as much as 22 before finishing with the 18-point win.

“I thought the defensive effort in the first half was really good,” said Starr. “We got a little sloppy defensively in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but that got better in the final 10.”

Kaled Lowery finished with his 14th double-double of the season, dropping 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Jaren Nafarrete knocked down five of eight three-pointers on his way to 17 points, and Kendall Moore added 12.

This now sets up what will be the biggest game of the year this Thursday, Feb. 20 when The Master’s hosts Hope International in The MacArthur Center. If the Mustangs win and Arizona Christian loses to Benedictine Mesa, the Mustangs will be the GSAC champions and host the conference tournament. Should ACU beat BenU and TMU defeats the Royals, it will come down to tie breakers between the Mustangs and the Firestorm for the conference title. The first two tiebreakers are identical (head-to-head and record against common opponents). The third tiebreaker belongs to The Master’s.

“So it all comes down to this game on Thursday,” Starr said. “We have to take care of business on our floor.”

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