Master’s Puts Down Rally, Pulls Upset

The Master’s College withstood a second-half charge by Georgia Southwestern State and held on for an 84-75 upset over the fifth-seeded Hurricanes on Wednesday in the first round of the 62nd NAIA Division I men’s basketball tournament at Reynolds Center.

Unseeded Master’s (22-12) led by 16 points in the first half before Georgia Southwestern rallied behind Ernest Scott, who scored 32 points.

The Hurricanes (30-4) trimmed Master’s lead to 68-62 on a three-point basket by Jason Redmond with 5:34 remaining in the game.

But the Mustangs regrouped with a 10-2 run in the next three minutes. Joey Penberthy’s layup with 2:02 left put the Mustangs up, 78-64.

Master’s will play Oklahoma Baptist, an 80-63 winner over Auburn-Montgomery on Tuesday, in the second round today at 4:15 p.m. PST.

Forward Todd Whittington made all 10 of his shots and scored 20 points for the Mustangs.

Reggie McFerren added 20 points and Penberthy had 10. Joclin Julmist had 10 points and 16 rebounds.