Master’s Thwarted by a Pair of Guards : College basketball: Mustangs can’t stop Biola from penetrating and fall, 88-84, as 13-game winning streak is broken.

LA MIRADA —  An inability to keep the opposition off the offensive boards and to prevent a pair of fleet-footed guards from penetrating proved costly to The Master’s College in a nonconference men’s basketball game at Biola University on Friday night.

Despite being a half-step slow for much of the game, the Mustangs appeared to have a chance at sending the game into overtime down the stretch before losing, 88-84, before 1,800.

The loss snapped Master’s 13-game winning streak and was only its second defeat in its last 23 games.

“They didn’t do anything to surprise us, but we just had a very difficult time containing those two guys (guards Darryl McMillon and Kevin Griffis),” Coach Bill Oates said. “And we didn’t do a good job rebounding. They got too many second shots.”

The Mustangs (24-4), the No. 14-ranked team in the NAIA, trailed, 76-64, with seven minutes left before going on a 16-6 run to cut the deficit to 82-80 with 1:49 remaining.

Mike Penberthy, a freshman from Fresno Hoover High, keyed the surge by hitting four consecutive shots while scoring 10 of his 15 points, all of which came in the second half.

McMillon, one of the Eagles’ high-octane guards, nailed a leaping, double-pumping 10-footer in the lane to extend Biola’s lead to four, but Emeka Okenwa hit an inside shot to cut the Mustangs’ deficit to 84-82 with 1:15 left.

The Eagles (21-9) made enough key plays after that to win, however.

First, McMillon hit one of two free throws with a minute remaining to give Biola a three-point lead.

After a Master’s turnover, Griffis missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Chris Samdahl got the offensive rebound--one of a career-high 16 rebounds for the 6-foot-6 senior--before passing the ball to Griffis, who was fouled by Penberthy.

Griffis (14 points) made one of two free throws to give Biola an 86-82 advantage, but Master’s appeared to be on the verge of cutting its deficit to two again when Okenwa went to the foul line for a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left.

Okenwa, an 80% free-throw shooter entering the game, missed both shots--his sixth and seventh miss of the game without a make--and after a scramble for the loose ball, Samdahl fed a streaking Griffis for the layup with 10 seconds remaining that sealed the win for the Eagles.

“We figured that we could take it to them one-on-one,” Griffis said. “We thought we could do better by slashing through the lanes and dishing off if the shot wasn’t there.”

James Mosley had a game-high 19 for Master’s.