TMU Insider: Men’s hoops poised for regular season title

TMU’s Reid Shackelford scored 13 points against Menlo College on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Dhon Whellons/TMU Athletics
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Men’s Basketball

Playing its final home game of the regular season, The Master’s University men’s basketball team made quick work of Menlo College last Saturday afternoon by beating the Oaks 92-81 on Bross Court.

With the win, No. 18 TMU’s record improved to 22-4 overall and 11-4 in Golden State Athletic Conference play. Menlo fell to 10-16 (3-11).

The victory also put the Mustangs in a position to win the GSAC regular season championship, trailing first-place Hope International by half a game going into the final week of play. The Royals have two contests left: both on the road at Menlo and William Jessup. The Mustangs finish at Vanguard next Saturday.

Leading the Oaks wire-to-wire, TMU finished Saturday’s matinee by going 30-54 (55%) from the field, 11-24 (45%) from behind the arc and 21-30 (70%) from the line.

Travis Yenor and Hansel Atencia led all scorers with 22 points apiece. Reid Shackelford and Timothy Soares each scored 13 points while Lawrence Russell also scored in double figures by tallying 10 more.

Evan Jenkins led the Mustangs with eight rebounds and two blocked shots while Russell chipped in a game-high six assists.

This Saturday, the Mustangs will travel to Costa Mesa to take on Vanguard University at 7:30 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

The Master’s University women’s basketball team closed out its home schedule Saturday afternoon with a 62-50 win over Menlo College.

The win improved No. 21 TMU’s record to 20-6 overall and 10-5 in Golden State Athletic Conference play while the Oaks’ record moved to 9-18 (2-12 GSAC).

Saturday’s win also marked the fifth-straight campaign that TMU has tallied at least 20 victories in a single season.

As a team, TMU went 23-59 from the field (39%), 7-24 (29%) on three-pointers, and 9-17 (52%) on free throws.

Bianca Cubello led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed an evening-high nine rebounds while leading TMU in assists by dishing out two dimes. Notably, Cubello posted the Lady Mustangs’ largest lead of the evening (23 points) when she drove in a layup at the 4:24 mark in the third quarter, giving TMU 47-24 advantage.

Not to be overlooked, TMU newcomer Hannah Ostrom also scored in double figures by posting 10 points.

The Mustangs will now prepare for their final game of the regular season when they look to take down No. 3 Vanguard University in Costa Mesa this Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

Track

On Saturday, representatives from The Master’s University, Westmont College, and William Jessup University competed at the TMU Half Marathon in Santa Clarita.

Although the field was small, Saturday’s event boasted a high percentage of marathon qualifiers for the 66th Annual Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championships from May 25-27 at the Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Collectively, six NAIA “A” standard and two NAIA “B” standard qualifying marks were posted (Men “A”/”B” 1:13:30/1:15:00).

Among the national qualifying individuals were TMU’s Andrew Orona, Joshua Sherfey, Tim Gutierrez, and Alec Franco, with times of 1:11:37, 1:12:33, 1:12:34, and 1:13:42 respectively. The four Mustang men swept the top four spots in the race.

The Mustangs now look to earn more qualifying marks next Saturday (February 25, 2017) when they compete at the Rossi Relays in Claremont.

Baseball

Over the weekend, The Master’s University baseball team dropped its series to Vanguard. No. 11 TMU lost to No. 20 Vanguard 7-3 on Thursday, but split Saturday’s doubleheader by winning game one 13-2 and falling in the nightcap to the Lions 5-4.

On Monday, the Mustangs beat Corban University (Salem, Ore.) 2-1 in 10 innings.

The Mustangs now look to improve their 7-10 (1-5 GSAC) record this weekend when they host William Jessup University for a three-game series starting Friday at 2:00 p.m. Saturday’s twin bill will start at 11:00 a.m.

Golf

On Monday, The Master’s University golf team kicked off its spring schedule at the ACU Spring Invitational on the greens of the Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix, Arizona.

By the end of the first two rounds, TMU’s Joshua Delo’s consistent play carded him a collective score of 145 (72-73). Teammates Joseph Downey (74-73) and Robert Penalber (75-72) both finished the first two rounds with cumulative scores of 147.

Samuel Eisenhuth earned a score of 150 (72-78), while Mustang newcomer Karsten Briley enters the third round with a score 157 (77-80).

TMU will finish the tournament on Tuesday.

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

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