COSTA MESA – The Vanguard men's basketball team fell prey again to a second half barrage of three-point shots in a 73-68 loss to The Master's on Saturday at Orange Coast College.

Garrett White (SR/Post Falls, ID), Isaac Davis (SR/Valencia, CA) and Kody Knox (SR/Porter Ranch, CA) were honored in a pregame Senior Night ceremony to celebrate their final home game in the Blue and Gold.

But the Mustangs had other ideas and looked to spoil the party. TMU made 10 of 18 from distance over the final 20 minutes and held off a late Lion charge. In contrast, the Mustangs shot just 2 of 10 from behind the arc in the first half as VU built a 28-25 halftime lead.

Vanguard shot a solid 54.5 (18 of 33) percent in the second half, but took only three three-point attempts and missed them all. The Lions shot 1 of 8 from distance for the game.

In VU's last three home losses to Jessup, Westmont and The Master's, the opponent has shot a combined 55.7 (44 of 79) percent in the second half, including 55.9 (19 of 34) percent from three.

Jackson Larsen (JR/El Cajon, CA) scored a career-high 22 points on 9 of 16 shooting. He added seven rebounds and three blocked shots in his best game as a Lion. The forward is shooting 58.3 (21 of 36) percent over the last three contests.

Providing stellar support off the bench was Bryson Metz (FR/Vancouver, WA), who tied his career high with 14 points while hitting 7 of 10 floor shots.

White, who came in as the Golden State Athletic Conference's second-leading scorer at 20.0 points per game, was held to eight points. He took only eight shots as the constant focus of TMU's defense. Davis also finished with eight points.

Five Mustangs scored in double figures led by 17 points from Jordan Starr. Starr menaced the Lions with 14 of those points in the second half as he hit 4 of 6 from distance. Kaleb Lowery added 14 points, while Christian Sweazie, Caden Starr and T.J. Lowery all had 11.

Sweazie finished 8-of-8 from the foul line, hitting four crucial free throws in the final 16 seconds to stave off VU's late push.

The Lions fell to 12-12 overall and now sit in eighth place in the GSAC at 6-10. The Mustangs improved to 18-7 and 11-5 in league play.

What Happened?: The Mustangs emerged from the locker room at halftime in full three-point bombardment mode. TMU hit its first five attempts and seven of its first nine from distance – four coming from the Starr brothers.

The barrage of threes fueled a 27-12 TMU run to open the second half. Jordan Starr's triple with 13:10 to go gave the Mustangs its biggest lead at 52-40.

Larsen and Metz kept the Lions in the hunt as they combined to score 22 of the team's 32 points over a 10-minute span. Larsen used an array of post moves to get inside for layups, while Metz also was aggressive to the basket.

Metz nailed a jumper to get VU within 60-58 with 8:33 to go, then threaded a nifty pass to Jadyn Johnson (JR/Temecula, CA) for a bucket that tied the score at 60-60 less than a minute later.

It became a game of wills from that point. The Lions tied the score again at 66-66 as Metz finished at the rim with 2:07 remaining.

T.J. Lowery hit a crucial three on the next trip down the court to give the Mustangs a 69-66 lead. Out of a timeout, the Lions got good looks from Larsen and Phillip Willis (SR/San Diego, CA) but could not convert.

The Lions forced a turnover on Sweazie with 28 seconds left and White drew a foul, sinking both free throws to pull VU within 69-68. But Sweazie went 4 of 4 from the stripe as VU was forced to foul.

Vanguard built an early 15-9 lead on a Jacob Brown (JR/El Dorado Hills, CA) layup. The Mustangs scored six straight to knot the score at 15-15, but the Lions answered with six in a row of their own to reclaim a 23-18 lead. Metz gave VU a 25-18 advantage with 2:59 to go, but the Lions could not create further separation.

Metz's jumper provided VU a 28-25 lead at half.

Why Is It Important? The Lions have lost four of their last five games.

What's Next?: VU faces San Diego Christian on the road on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m.