Kelly Burns

WOMEN

The Master’s College women’s basketball team notched its sixth win of the season Friday night in an 88-72 victory over U.C. Merced (1-7).

“I’m glad to get a win on the road,” assessed head coach Dan Waldeck. “With the long week of academics, a four hour ride, and playing on the road, I’m proud to get back in the winning trail.”

Friday night’s victory was the third-highest scoring game the 10th-ranked Lady Mustangs have produced in the 2013-14 campaign, and the second time this season the squad tallied 88 points.

“A couple players, Whitney Best and Kelly Burns, played really well and brought it when it was needed most,” further assessed Waldeck.

Burns (Yorba Linda, CA), led the Lady Mustangs by notching a double-double shooting a team-high 20 points and yanking down 10 rebounds.  Best (Snohomish, WA) scored 11 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and tallied 3 assists and steals.

Also spearheading the way for TMC was Zoe Scott (Spokane, WA) who tallied 14 points in the victory, while Megan Lindsley (Vancouver, WA) scored 13 more.

Overall, TMC went 31-62 (.500) from the field, 8-19 (0.421) behind the arc, and 18-24 (.750) at the charity stripe.  The squad also yanked down 38 total rebounds, chipped in 21 dimes, and tallied 7 steals.

Now, the Lady Mustangs will head home and set their sights on next Thursday’s match against Bethesda.  Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Bross Court.

MEN

The weather outside was frightful but the outcome inside was delightful as The Master’s College used a 13-1 run in the first four minutes of the second half to race away from host Simpson 66-57 Friday evening, extending their winning streak to a season-best four games.

On a rare, snowy evening in the northern part of the state, the Mustangs stayed undefeated on the road (4-0) and improved to 7-2.

Up 26-24 coming out of halftime, the Mustangs got a quick jumper from Chris Patureau (Houston, TX) and a three-pointer by Derrick Fain (Dallas, TX) to trigger the game-changing skein that turned a close game into a runaway.  Fain followed up his trifecta with a trio of free throws after he was fouled on a three-point attempt, drained another long-range shot, and capped things off with a pair of free throws for a 39-25 lead with 17 minutes remaining in the game.

The Mustangs kept the advantage in double digits until the final three minutes and by then they had the game well in hand.  They grew the lead to a game-high 17 points (54-37) on a three-point play by Korey Anderson (Clovis, CA) with 10 minutes left before the Redhawks made a mini-run, slicing the deficit to 11 points almost two minutes later and keeping their fans in the stands.

Patureau stopped the run with a jumper at the eight-minute mark to restore order and the Mustangs kept their distance until the Redhawks made one last rush, closing to 58-50 on a Dalton Thacker jumper with 3:07 showing on the clock.  However, Patureau, who scored nine points, responded again, nailing a jumper 22 seconds later to re-establish a double-digit margin.

The Redhawks drew within nine points on a pair of occasions in the final minute but the Mustangs sealed the win at the line, going 6-6 down the stretch.

Although the Mustangs led virtually the entire first half, taking the lead (3-2) for good on a Dominique Lanier (Lakewood, CA) basket with 18:04 remaining, the initial 20 minutes were far different than the runaway that characterized the second stanza.  No more than six points separated the clubs in the half and that happened twice (8-2 and 25-19) on a Bernard Ireland (Rialto, CA) trey with 14:32 remaining and then 12 minutes later (2:31) on a Patureau hoop.

An Ireland free throw with 26 seconds remaining gave the Mustangs, who shot just 34% (11-32) in the first half, that two-point edge at the break.  Over the final 20 minutes, the club improved its accuracy dramatically, hitting at a 55% (11-20) clip to finish at a tepid 42%.

Although Fain struggled from the field (3-12 overall, 2-11 from behind the arc), he made up for it at the line, hitting all seven of his attempts to finish with a game-high 15 points.  Ireland was the only other Mustang in double figures, going for 12 points while Jason Logan (Spartanburg, SC) equaled Patureau’s point total and shared game-high rebounding honors with Anderson, taking down six boards.

Coming off a six-day break to beat the Redhawks, the Mustangs take a week off now for finals before a rematch with Simpson next Friday evening, this time on Bross Court where the ball will go up at 7 p.m.