TMU Insider: Hoops teams nearing homestretch

Travis Yenor (30) and The Master's University men's hoops team ended the season in the NAIA Division 1 Men's National Tournament. Courtesy photo.
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This week, The Master’s University’s basketball teams will compete in their final home games of the regular season, TMU baseball hosts Vanguard University for a crucial three-game conference series, while Mustang track and field will compete in the TMU Half Marathon…

Men’s basketball
Last week, TMU’s record moved to 20-4 overall and 9-4 in Golden State Athletic Conference play after losing to Hope International, 82-72, in Fullerton on Thursday, but beating Arizona Christian 102-85 on TMU’s Bross Court on Saturday.

This is TMU’s first 20-win season since 2011-12 when the Mustangs finished 20-16 (9-9 GSAC).

Against the Firestorm on Saturday night, TMU freshman Travis Yenor highlighted the Mustangs’ performance by notching his first career double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Hansel Atencia, who led TMU in scoring, finished the afternoon with 23 points and dished out a team-high nine assists. Delewis Johnson scored 16 points and Reid Shackelford tallied 15. Timothy Soares chipped in with 11 points and two blocks, and Lawrence Russell scored 10 more.

Collectively, the Mustangs, who rank No. 18 in the NAIA, went 38-of-79 (48 percent) from the field.

This week, TMU will compete in its final two home games of the regular season. The Mustangs will host William Jessup on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Menlo on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Women’s basketball
Last week, TMU moved its record to 18-6 overall and 8-5 in the GSAC after beating Hope International 61-49 in Fullerton on Thursday and taking down Arizona Christian 70-63 on Saturday on Bross Court.

Against the Royals, TMU’s Hannah Ostrom led all scorers with 11 points. Ostrom also posted a team-leading six steals.

On Saturday against the Firestorm, Ashley Bartow finished the day with a team-leading 15 points, Ostrom finished close behind with 14, and Megan Lindsley also scored in double digits with 12 more. Bianca Cubello grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Notably, Cubello’s nine points moved her into ninth place on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,213 points.

This week, TMU, who currently ranks 21st in the NAIA, will compete in its final two home games of the regular season. The Mustangs will host William Jessup on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Menlo next Saturday at 4 p.m.

Women’s track and field
Last Saturday, the Mustangs posted standout results at the Soka Indoor Qualifier.

Abigail Frankian, Tess Thompson, Mikala Fairchild and Morgan Pedrick represented TMU in the distance medley relay.

TMU won the event in 12 minutes and 14.29 seconds, which was one second off the meet record (12:13) and nine seconds off the school’s overall record time (12:05.77, Rossi Relays, 2016). Finally, TMU’s time met the NAIA’s “A” standard qualifying time (12:33) for the NAIA’s 37th annual Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Johnson City, Tennessee, from March 2-14.
Individual split times in the DMR included Frankian finishing the 1200 meter in 3:42, Thompson running the 400m in 1:03, Fairchild completing the 800m in 2:19, and Pedrick blitzing through the 1600m with a final time of 5:08.

In the 4x800m, the Lady Mustangs clocked an impressive time of 9:46.81. TMU placed second in the event and met the NAIA’s “B” standard qualifying time (9:50) for the upcoming national championship meet. TMU’s performance was complied by individual times from Pedrick (2:19), Ariana Sciarra (2:28), Rylee Bishop (2:29), and Frankian (2:24).

Finally, in the 60m, Thompson ran both a new personal record and school record (8.79, Soka Indoor, 2016) after winning her heat with a final time of 8.63. Emily Hess, who was competing in her first collegiate race, finished the event in 8.88.

On Saturday, TMU track and field will compete in the TMU Half Marathon in Santa Clarita.

Baseball
After being swept by Hope International University over the weekend in Fullerton, TMU continued to struggle when it fell to Corban University of Salem, Oregon, 5-4, Tuesday afternoon at TMU’s Lou Herwaldt Stadium.

This weekend, TMU will look to improve its 5-8 record (0-3 GSAC) when it hosts Vanguard University for a three-game series starting Friday afternoon at Lou Herwaldt Stadium.

For more information about The Master’s University Athletics, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @TMUAthletics.

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