The Master’s University men’s basketball team shot better than 60% from the field as they opened conference play with a 107-70 win over the Life Pacific Warriors in The MacArthur Center.

It was the third time this season the Mustangs (12-3, 1-0 GSAC) scored over 100 points, bringing their average up to 91.7 per game. TMU ranks No. 6 in the nation in points per game.

Just as impressive as their offense, the Mustangs defense held the Warriors to just 25 points in the first half and limited LPU’s shooting to 36% for the game.

“This team has the ability to score. We’ve seen that all year long,” TMU Head Coach Kelvin Starr said about the Mustangs. “But we’ve got to keep getting better defensively. GSAC games require you to be locked in defensively for 40 minutes.”

TMU jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead to start the game, and while the Warriors could get only as close as six points, The Master’s pulled away by as much as 36 before settling for a 58-25 halftime lead.

The second half was much more even, with the Mustangs taking a 49-45 difference in the half. Both teams shot better than 50% over the final 20 minutes, with TMU taking a small advantage in rebounding (19-14). Over the entire game, however, The Master’s grabbed a 46-31 difference off the glass.

Ty Harper led TMU with 26 points on 10 of 15 shooting, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range. Kamrin Oriol scored 21 off the bench, followed by Caden Starr’s 14, Kaleb Lowery’s 12 and Jordan Caruso’s 11. Lowery led the team with 11 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season, followed by Caruso with 10 boards and five assists.

The Master’s will now have their next three GSAC games on the road, starting with Vanguard Saturday night at Orange Coast College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

“We’ve got a confident Vanguard team on Saturday,” Starr said. “It’s a quick turnaround, but we’ve got to be ready to go.”