AZUSA, CALIF. -- The NAIA's No. 3-ranked Azusa Pacific University pushed its winning streak to 11 straight with a 105-66 pasting of Point Loma Nazarene in a Golden State Athletic Conference game in Azusa Saturday night.
The Cougars clinch an unprecedented sixth straight outright GSAC championship and are now set for the GSAC Postseason Tournament, which tips off with first round play on Wednesday (March 4) when these same 2 teams- Azusa Pacific and Point Loma- meet again in Azusa at 7:30 p.m.
In tonight's contest, all 14 Cougars scored. Reserve
Ty Clark led the Cougars with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Fellow reserves Brian Lucas,
Matt Reed and starters
Jeremy DeVries and
Jason Boswell each tossed in 12 points. For Reed, the dozen points are a career high.
"We didn't want to share the GSAC title," said Clark. "We're selfish and wanted to win it outright. We also wanted to send a message to Point Loma that we're not going to let up heading into the playoffs."
Four minutes into the game, the Cougars went on a 16-4 run to take control at 22-10 with 13:51 left to play. Azusa Pacific then held Point Loma without a field goal for 10 minutes and 25 seconds, pushing its lead to a 32-point cushion at 54-22. All 14 Cougars played in the first half, with Boswell leading the way with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting which included a pair of treys.
"This was a fun game for our starters and for our bench," said Cougar coach
Bill Odell. "Wednesday's game is 0-0 right now. Tonight's game doesn't mean a thing in terms of the playoffs."
With the win, Azusa Pacific pushes its winning streak to 11 straight and finishes the regular season at 28-4 overall, 13-1 in the GSAC. The 13 wins ties a conference record which Southern California College originally set in 1989. The Cougars have now won 15 straight over Point Loma. Meanwhile, the Crusaders suffer their 30th consecutive defeat to fall to 1-31 overall, 0-14 in the GSAC.
Since Azusa Pacific's first conference title in 1993, the Cougars are 70-10 in GSAC play over the past 6 years.
