Reid Shackelford

Riverside, CA — Reid Shackelford poured in a career-high 20 points and four teammates scored in double figures to lead The Master’s College past La Sierra 84-74.

The victory, the second over the Golden Eagles in 10 days, lifted the Mustangs’ record to 2-1.

Shackelford’s (Murrieta, CA) three-pointer with 18:48 left in the first half put the Mustangs on the scoreboard and his two charity tosses more than four minutes later (14:10) gave the club a lead (10-8) it would never surrender.  Those free throws sparked an 8-2 run that Evan Jenkins (Los Angeles, CA) finished off at the 11:14 mark with a basket that extended the advantage to 16-10.  

Less than a minute later, the Mustangs surged again, creating some temporary separation with a 13-2 burst in a 5:16 window to take charge at 29-14.  Russell Byrd (Santa Clarita, CA) triggered the run with a basket and Shackelford, J.P. Webster (Vallejo, CA), Nick Paul (London, England), and Korey Anderson (Clovis, CA) added hoops before Harrison White (Winston-Salem, NC) capped off the onslaught with a trifecta at the 5:39 mark.

However, the host Golden Eagles didn’t stay grounded long, turning the momentum around quickly by scoring 14 of the game’s next 19 points to close to 34-28 on a Robert Looper basket with 1:19 left in the half.

Fittingly, a pair of Shackelford free throws stopped the skein and when Chris Patureau (Houston, TX) and Jenkins followed with baskets, the Mustangs boosted the lead back into double figures, 40-30, at intermission.

That 10-point advantage was built on a season-best 58% shooting in the first half as Shackelford and Patureau tossed in 11 points apiece.

Shackelford’s career-best mark came on 4-9 shooting, including 3-7 accuracy from behind the ark, and a sparkling 9-10 from the line.  Patureau didn’t miss a shot all evening (8-8 from the field, hit his only three-point attempt and his only free throw attempt) on the way to 18 points while Anderson added a dozen more off the bench.  Webster and White were the other two Mustangs in double figures, pouring in 10 points apiece.

Byrd missed out on double figures for the first time in the young season, however, he more than made up for it with game-highs of 10 rebounds and six assists to go along with eight points.

Next up for the Mustangs is an exhibition at NCAA Division I UC Santa Barbara Saturday evening before they seek to extend their winning streak to three games at NCAA Division II power Cal Poly Pomona on November 25.