Foul-Plagued Master’s Drops NCCAA Final

Foul trouble plagued The Master’s College in the National Christian College Athletic Assn. basketball championship game in Cleveland, Tenn., and John Brown University took advantage, coming from behind to beat the Mustangs, 92-85, Saturday night.

Second-seeded Master’s (22-12) took its largest lead, 61-52, with 13 minutes remaining, but John Brown went on a 9-0 run to tie the score two minutes later.

Master’s was called for 35 fouls and five Mustangs, including starters Tom Bruner, David Moore and Damon Greer, fouled out.

John Brown (25-8), the tournament’s fourth-seeded team, was 38 of 52 from the free-throw line (73%).

“Our game is built around pressure defense,” Master’s Coach Mel Hankinson said. “It seemed like the calls weren’t going our way, and we had a tough time getting into a rotation with so many players in foul trouble.”

The lead changed hands several times in the first half before Master’s took a 41-38 lead at halftime.

Junior forward Jason Webster led the Mustangs with 18 points, and Bruner, Jeff Newton and Stuart Epperson each scored 15. Bruner, a junior forward, picked up three fouls in the first half and fouled out with 3 minutes 58 seconds left in the game.

Despite the loss, Hankinson remains optimistic about the future of the Mustangs, who set a school record for victories in a season (22).

“We really had a great season. We’ve come a long way in three years, and next year most of these guys will be seniors,” Hankinson said. “We will be expecting even more out of them next season.”

Master’s outrebounded John Brown, 43-33, but was outperformed in all phases of shooting.

John Brown, which upset top-seeded Malone College in the semifinals, was 24 of 43 (56%) from the field; Master’s hit only 29 of 69 (42%).

Master’s made only 55% of its free throws, converting 17 of 31 attempts.

Master’s hit five of 15 shots from three-point range (33%).