In a tight game that saw six ties and six lead changes, The Master’s University men’s basketball team lost to the Florida Memorial Lions 75-70 on Tuesday, Dec. 30 in The MacArthur Center.

It was a tale of two halves for the Mustangs (9-5, 3-0) defense as it held the Lions to just 31 percent shooting in the first half but allowed 17 of 24 (71 percent) in the second half. TMU shot 25 of 59 (42 percent) from the field for the game.

“Our transition defense was atrocious,” said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. “That’s where they opened the game up in the second half and allowed them to shoot such a great percentage. Missed opportunities for us led into fast break opportunities for them. And against a really good team, you can’t have that. It’s good to play a team this good because it gives us a gauge on what we need to work on before we get into conference.”

The two teams battled to a 33-33 tie at the half, despite the good defense by The Master’s in those first 20 minutes. TMU was able to open up an eight-point lead on a three-pointer by Brayden Miner with 13 minutes to play in the first half, but a 10-0 run by the Lions put FMU back on top 18-16. That eight-point lead was the largest The Master’s would enjoy in the game.

Neither team had more than a 3-point lead for the remainder of the half.

After a few back-and-forth baskets to open the second frame, a Lions three-pointer just 2:07 into the half gave FMU the lead for good. And while its largest lead over TMU was seven points, the Mustangs were never far from the lead. Twice The Master’s pulled to within a single point, and six times to within two points.

A layup by Nate Boakye tied the game at 68-68 with 3:44 to play, but made shots and free throws by the Lions, coupled with missed shots and turnovers by the Mustangs, allowed Florida Memorial to pull away down the stretch for the five-point win.

Quincy Phillips led TMU with 20 points followed by Caden DeVries with a career-high 18 points on six of seven shooting from behind the three-point line.

“[Caden DeVries] is doing everything we have asked him to do,” Starr said. “Guard at a high level and make shots, and he kept us in the game with some really high level shot making today.”

Miner tallied 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench, with Boakye adding 12 points.

The Master’s will have one more home game in The MacArthur Center before returning to conference play when it hosts the Stanton Elks on Friday, Jan. 2 at 5 p.m.

For more information visit GoMustangs.com.