CARSON, CALIF. -- The NAIA's No. 6-ranked Azusa Pacific, which had an 11-point second half lead whittled down to 1 with less than 5 minutes left to play, held on to knock off Cal State Dominguez Hills, 80-74, in Carson, Calif., Tuesday night.

Senior guard Andy Newman (Fremont, Calif./Mission San Jose HS) scored a team-high 17 points, including 15 in the second half, to lead a quartet of Cougars in double-figure scoring. Freshman Corey Smith (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas HS) tossed in 15 points off the bench, all on 5-for-8 shooting from the 3-point arc (he's 11-for-21 from 3-point territory over the past 4 games). Junior guard T.J. Walker (Modesto, Calif./Modesto HS) added 14 points and a game-high 6 assists while his backcourt mate, junior Jason Boswell (Turlock, Calif./Turlock HS), chipped in 11 points. Senior forward Micah Sullivan (Ellensburg, Wash./Ellensburg HS) registered 6 points and a team-high 6 rebounds.

The Cougars trailed by as much as 10 points (28-18) late in the first half. However, they forced 5 Toro turnovers in the waning moments to spur to 15-0 Cougar run which sent Azusa Pacific into the lockerroom with a 33-28 halftime cushion.

CSDH began the second half with an 8-5 run but turnovers cost the Toros again, keying an Azusa Pacific 19-10 run that put the Cougars up by 11 at 57-46 after a Newman jumper with 10:47 left. The Toros answered with 18-8 run of their own capped by Fantasia Johnson's lay-up to make it 65-64 Azusa Pacific with 4:33 remaining. But that was as close as CSDH would get as Azusa Pacific went on a 13-5 run to nail down the victory.

The difference in the game came down to Azusa Pacific's ability to can the 3-pointer. The Cougars tallied 6 more treys than CSDH on 10-for-26 shooting as opposed to the Toros' 4-for-13 clip. Additionally, Azusa Pacific was 20-for-25 (.800) from the line while CSDH was just 10-for-17.

The victory is Azusa Pacific's first-ever in 7 trips to the Torodome in Carson and combined with last year's 80-53 Cougar win in Azusa, it marks the first time ever Azusa Pacific has posted back-to-back victories over the NCAA Division II-affiliated CS Dominguez Hills.

The Cougars have now won 4 straight since falling at Utah on Dec. 12. They return to the hardwood on Monday, Dec. 29, when they host Concordia University of Portland, Ore., at 7:30 p.m. in the opening round of the 11th Annual Cougar Classic.