Box Score
San Francisco, Calif. (11/26/08) -- On the eve of Thanksgiving, The Master's College Mustangs defeated Academy of Art University 65-92 at UC San Francisco's Rutter Gym. The Mustangs feasted from the three-point line for a total of 16 makes from downtown despite the fact that four Urban Knights reached double figures. Sophomore guard Dominique Smith led an undermanned roster with 22 points (4-of-5 3pt) and six rebounds followed by sophomore guard Phillip Samuel who had 17 points and five rebounds.
Playing without sophomore point guard Weleh Dennis or freshman forward Lorenzo Dobson due to injury, Academy of Art University was forced to play all of its starters at least 33 minutes each. Despite the circumstances, the Urban Knights played a strong first half and only trailed by five points at halftime. The Mustangs ran up the score with eight more threes in second period to eventually take the game.
The Master's College began the contest by scoring their first 12 points all on 3-pointers (three by Drew Menez), but the visitors only established a 12-9 advantage with 13:47 on the clock. Six minutes later, the lead was 13 points for the Mustangs as the points off turnovers were piling up. However, the Urban Knights then initiated a 22-14 run to close out the half down only 38-33. Smith kept his team within striking distance by draining three shots from beyond the arc in that span.
Coming out of the locker room, The Master's College continued its hot shooting with back-to-back treys by Ryan Zamroz. A pair of layups put TMC up by 14, its biggest lead of the game, with 14:21 left to play and the Mustangs weren't yet finished. Two more 3-pointers and another layup put them up by 19 and while Smith rattled off the Urban Knights' next seven points, it was not enough. At 5:45, the score rose to 88-57 on another long ball by Zamroz and eventually ended with The Master's College firmly in the driver's seat.
The two freshman forwards for Academy of Art University, Hunter Hayden and Josiah Jungsten hung tough down low combining for 16 points and 16 rebounds, but having 11 players compete against only seven for AAU was definitely a lot to ask of the home squad.
The Mustangs were paced by Ryan Zamroz who finished with a season-high 27 points (a point shy of his career-high) including 5-of-7 from long range and eight assists. Fellow long-range shooter Drew Menez added 16 points (4-for-8 3pt) and eight rebounds.
Academy of Art University moves to 0-4 after the loss while The Master's College improves to 4-1 on the season.
After the Thanksgiving holiday, the Urban Knights will hit the road for their next 11 games with the first pair coming this weekend in Phoenix, Arizona. Academy of Art University will play Grand Canyon, the host of the aptly named Grand Canyon Tournament, on Friday at 7:30PM before facing Fort Lewis College on Saturday at 5:30PM.
