AZUSA, CALIF. -- Azusa Pacific, ranked No. 16 in the NAIA, clinched at least a tie for an unprecedented fifth consecutive GSAC championship with an 82-71 victory over Fresno Pacific in Azusa Tuesday night.
The Cougars, who hold a 1 game lead over No. 8-ranked Biola, need to peat Point Loma Nazarene in Saturday's regular-season finale to win the crown outright.
Dameon Page led Azusa Pacific with 25 points, his est GSAC effort of the season, on 8-for-14 shooting. Reserve center
Nate Getz was the only other Cougar in double figures, dropping in 11 points.
Fresno Pacific was paced by Craig Griffin's 19 points. Josh Snow had 15 points and a game-high 9 rebounds.
The Cougars led 39-29 at the half thanks to a 14-7 run to end the half. Page converted 5-of-11 first half shot for 11 points, while
Micah Sullivan added 6 points and 6 rebounds. The Cougars canned 18 of their first 34 shots (53%) while holding the Sunbirds to just 10-for-24 (42%) shooting during the same span.
The Cougars led by as much as 20 points (58-38) with 9:52 left in the game. The Sunbirds whittled the lead to 11 on a couple of occasions but a 74-63 count with1:06 left in the game was as close as they could come again.
The Cougars have now won 1y6 straight at home and are just 1 win away from the fifth undefeated home campaign. They will host a first-round GSAC Postseason Tournament game next Wednesday (March 5) against an opponent to be determined.
Azusa Pacific, which is 55-9 in GSAC play since 1993, improves to 24-7 overall and 11-2 in the GSAC. Fresno Pacific falls to 17-11 overall, 7-6 in conference action.
