The Master’s University took advantage of 17 Hope International turnovers to defeat the Royals 78-73 in the GSAC Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals Friday, Feb. 27 in Fullerton.

The Mustangs will now host No. 4-seed Benedictine Mesa on Monday night, March 2 in The MacArthur Center in the conference championship. The Redhawks upset No. 1-seed Arizona Christian 68-65 in the other semifinal.

Shooting percentages were about the same for each team, as were the rebounds. But TMU had a 21-8 advantage in points off of turnovers against HIU.

“We made some adjustments defensively this time around to try to take their inside game away because we are obviously undersized,” said TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr. “I thought we did a really good job of doing that and making them beat us from the perimeter, and that actually caused some turnovers in the process. So that worked out nicely.”

It was the first time The Master’s defeated Hope this season as the Royals had a pair of one-point wins in the two previous meetings.

“It was a good team effort,” Starr said. “The effort was off the charts. In post-season games you’ve got to step it up a bit, and Hope is a very physical and tough team. You have to match that intensity and I thought we did a really good job with that.”

The game looked bleak at the start for the Mustangs as HIU jumped out to a 9-3 lead that increased to 14-6 just 3:46 into the game. But The Master’s fought back to tie the game four times before taking a 33-29 lead into the locker room.

Then in the second half, after Hope International took the lead on a 6-0 run, Master’s hit three, three-pointers in a row to take a six-point lead they would not relinquish. A relentless defense creating turnovers and converting to points pushed the lead up to us much as 12 points with 5:27 to play.

Hope battled back, cutting the lead to three points with 42 seconds to play. But Brayden Miner’s three-pointer with 30 seconds to play was the dagger in the Royals’ heart as The Master’s came away with the 78-73 win.

Avery Jackson finished with a game-high 24 points followed by Quincy Phillips with 19 and Miner with 18. Phillips led the team with both six rebounds and five assists.

The win also gave TMU its 20th win of the season, making 10 years in a row the men’s basketball team has had at least 20 wins on the season.

Now The Master’s will look to claim the GSAC Tournament championship when it hosts the Benedictine Mesa Redhawks Monday night in The MacArthur Center. The teams split their season series, with The Master’s winning 92-86 in Santa Clarita, but losing 81-70 in Mesa, Ariz.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

For more information visit GoMustangs.com.