The Master’s College converted 12 free throws in the second overtime Saturday evening and outlasted San Diego Christian 89-77 in El Cajon.

The win extended the Mustangs’ winning streak to three games and kept them tied for third place (9-4, 16-7 overall) in the GSAC with Azusa Pacific. However, with two wins over the Cougars, the Mustangs hold the tiebreaker as the regular season winds to a close.

But, if it wasn’t for rallies down the stretch in regulation and the first extra period, the Mustangs would not be enjoying their high position in the conference.

Down 55-50 with just under five minutes left in regulation, the Mustangs came back to force the first overtime at 62. Coming back in the first extra period looked even more improbable as the Hawks led by eight (71-63) with just under a minute to go. But, the Mustangs outscored the hosts 9-1 in just 56 seconds to move the contest into a second, five-minute overtime.

But, this game was about more than just late-game chills and thrills. Early on, the Mustangs dominated play, using a 7-0 spurt to jump to a 13-4 lead on two Raphael Harris free throws with 12:54 left in the first half. However, the Mustangs suddenly went cold, going scoreless for over four minutes while the Hawks tore off 10 straight points to go up one.

That set up a back-and-forth pattern over the last eight minutes of the first half as the clubs shared the lead four times and exchanged it 11 more times. The last came with 16 seconds left when Tyler Mutton scored on a layup to give the Hawks a 30-28 edge at the break.

The Hawks clung to the lead, one that reached as much as six points twice in the first five minutes of the second half, until four straight points by Joey Fuca pushed the Mustangs in front 45-43 with 9:52 remaining. Again, the squads went back and forth over the next three minutes before a Mutton trifecta spurred a 6-0 run for a 55-50 lead at the 4:53 mark.

But, the Mustangs bounced back as Leif Karlberg buried a free throw and Thomas Millar drained a three-ball to make it a one-point game. After the Hawks went up by three, Karlberg tied it up on a three-point play with 1:55 remaining. The Hawks got a James Green free throw to go up by one but Dean Hadley’s free throw with one minute left pushed the Mustangs ahead, 61-60.

A Roy Walker free throw with 36 seconds left doubled the advantage but San Diego Christian’s Marcus Miller tied things up with a pair of free tosses with eight seconds. When Hadley missed a shot from behind the arc with three ticks left on the clock, the clubs headed off to overtime.

Once there, the Mustangs went ice cold. Going scoreless over the first 3:44, the Mustangs fell behind 69-62 and looked all but dead. Joey Fuca ended the drought with a free throw but when the Hawks countered with a pair of charity tosses it appeared to be over.

But, then something magical happened in the final minute. It started with a Walker three-point play (43 seconds left), got real interesting when Karlberg buried a three-pointer (71-69, 29 seconds left), and culminated when Fuca tied the game at 72 on a three-point play with 12 seconds remaining.

However, the Mustangs weren’t out of the woods just yet and overtime number two had to wait because Hawk Marcus Miller was fouled with one tick left on the clock. He missed the free throw, though, and extra period two beckoned.

This time the Mustangs were ready to play only five more minutes. Millar gave the Mustangs a quick lead on a three-point play five seconds into the period and the visitors never trailed again. A Karlberg trey extended the advantage to 79-74 and then the Mustangs scored their final eight points from the line.

But it was their defense that ultimately made the difference, keeping the Hawks off the scoreboard for nearly three minutes and outscoring them eventually 17-5.

Playing 46 of the 50 minutes, Fuca came up huge. He posted game-highs of 23 points, featuring an 11-13 performance from the line, and five assists. Karlberg, who was 8-9 from the charity stripe, finished with 16 points while Millar and Hadley had 15 and 14 points, respectively.