The Master’s men’s basketball game struggled making shots and lost to the Ottawa (AZ) Spirit 91-63 Saturday night in a critical GSAC game in Surprise, Ariz.

TMU shot just 24-of-68 (35%), struggling from 3-point range by hitting 3-of-19, while being out-scored in both halves by the Spirit.

“We did not compete at a level required to win a GSAC game,” said head coach Kelvin Starr. “Especially one on the road against a very good OUAZ team. We did manage to put ourselves in a better spot with the big win at ACU on Thursday, but it was a tough way to end the Arizona swing.”

The loss knocks The Master’s (14-6, 7-4 GSAC) off the top of the GSAC standings and into a three-way tie at second with OUAZ and Hope International. Arizona Christian is back in first place, a game ahead of the second-place pack.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first 4:47 of the game, but the Spirit scored the next 15 points in a row to take the lead and never look back. By the time the first 20 minutes were in the books, OUAZ had built up an 18-point lead on 47% shooting while holding The Master’s to 10-of-34 (29%).

The shots were falling better for the Mustangs in the second half, hitting 41% of their shots, but the balls continued to fall better for the Spirit (45%). A 44-25 halftime lead turned into a 27-point win by the time the final horn sounded.

Jordan Caruso led the Mustangs with 20 points, while Kaleb Lowery picked up his 11th double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

“Love our group and look forward to competing in the final seven GSAC games with them,” Starr said. “The conference is a logjam. It’s going to be a fun run to the end.”

The Master’s will have a week before their next game, which is on the road against the Westmont Warriors. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

“We will get back after it in practice on Monday,” Starr said. “A big week ahead with another tough road game at Westmont.”