AZUSA, CALIF. -- Azusa Pacific, ranked No. 18 in this week's NAIA Coaches' Poll, rallied from a lethargic first half and hung on to beat Cal Baptist, 96-88, in a Golden State Athletic Conference game in the Cougardome Tuesday night.
Senior guard
Tim Sebek led Azusa Pacific with 20 points, including 13 in the second half. After Azusa Pacific surged ahead to take a 70-62 lead with 12 minutes left in the game, Cal Baptist went on a 12-4 run to the score at 74-74. The Cougars answered by scoring 7 of the game's next 9 points to assume an 81-72 lead with Sebek tallying 5 straight points, 3 coming off a trey to give the Cougars the 5-point margin with 4:11 left in the game. Azusa Pacific pushed its advantage to 92-82 with 75 seconds to play and held on for the win. The Cougars kept the Lancers at bay the rest of the way by canning 5-of-8 free throws, including 3 by Sebek.
Cal Baptist was led by Rick Hurt's game-high 27 points, including 14 in the first half when he gave the Lancers a 48-46 halftime lead by hitting a fade-away jumper at the buzzer. Donti Ceruti added 25 points. Hurt and Ceruti combined for 24-for-34 (.71%) shooting from the floor while the rest of the Lancers shots just 35% (13-for-37).
The Cougar bench outscored the Lancer bench, 48-10. Brothers Greg and
Brad Alley combined for 30 points (15 each) off the bench to aid the Cougar cause, and
Ricky Blackmon added 16.
"It's nice to win a conference game when you don't play your very best," said Cougar Head Coach Bill Odell. "Cal Baptist was outstanding with Ceruti and Hurt making big plays and showing their athleticism. We had a hard time stopping them. I felt very good about our scoring off the bench. Blackmon and the Alleys picked up for the starters."
With the victory the Cougars move back into a first-place tie with Westmont, which fell to Point Loma Nazarene tonight, 81-67. Azusa Pacific has now won 12 straight at home and improves its record on the season to 18-5 overall, 5-2 in GSAC play. Cal Baptist falls to 12-11 overall, 1-6 in the GSAC.
