Box Score SANTA CLARITA, Calif. --- Do not be surprised if late next month in Kansas City there are three or four teams from this Golden State Athletic Conference still standing in the final four of the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Tournament.
 
Night in and night out new teams are proving themselves in playoff-worthy competition all across the conference. This week's team en vogue is the No. 23 The Master's University Mustangs. Earlier this week the Mustangs worked a nearly 40-point win over San Diego Christian at home before earning an even more impressive 91-76 win tonight over your No. 6 Biola Eagles.
 
Biola was looking to win its eighth conference contest in a row and complete a season-sweep of the very much-improved Mustangs, but instead got handed their first loss since Jan. 7.
 
The aspect that brought the defeat to the Eagles tonight was exactly what led to the team's demise up at Westmont last month  ­– deadly outside shooting. The Master's shot well from all over the floor as they became just the second team to top 90 points against the Eagles this season. They ended with a field goal percentage of 53 and racked up 13 three-point makes as they created a tempo of scoring that Biola simply could not keep up with.
 
The three-point baskets made it so that the Eagles had to start shooting much earlier in the shot clock than they would have liked and kept Biola from being able to settle into their effective and efficient half-court offense.
 
The Mustangs had their foot on the pedal from the very start, making each of their first four shots from the field to open up a quick 12-6 advantage in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.
 
Biola would whittle that lead back down to as little as three, but would not get any closer than that for the rest of the ballgame. The Eagles held a lead a 2-0 and 4-2 and that was it in this one as TMU hit all the shots they needed to in order to stay a few steps in front of the Eagles at all time.
 
There was one point just inside of the 10-minute mark in the second half where Biola was able to make a stop on six of seven TMU possessions and dominate inside on the other end because they got the Mustangs' two freshman bigs in foul trouble. That stretch allowed BU to turn a 15-point TMU lead into just a six-point game and Caelan Tiongson's energy was through the roof as it felt like the Eagles were finally turning the corner.
 
However, just after Tiongson's two made free throws cut into the lead, The Mustangs managed to score five points in a row and then hit back-to-back three-point daggers to put the game out of reach for good.
 
Reid Shackelford (28 points, 7 3-PT FG) and Lawrence Russell (22 points, 3 3-PT FG) were a nightmare for the Eagles all night long and carried TMU on their backs to the upset.
 
Tiongson and Dakari Archer were the go-to guys for the Eagles with 20 points and 19 points. Biola even managed to lead the effort with a 39-32 rebounding advantage, but in the end the Eagles' 38 percent shooting and -10 difference in three-point field goals led to a disappointing loss.
 
Biola is still right in the thick of things at the top of the GSAC standings. They are now tied with The Master's in second place in the conference at 8-3. Both teams sit a half-game back from Hope International (8-2), who won tonight at San Diego Christian and faces The Master's on Thursday.
 
Biola's next time out is also on Thursday evening.  The Eagles travel to No. 20 William Jessup, where they will look to even the season-series with the Warriors (6-4) who have lost three straight.