The game featured a matchup of last year's Co-GSAC Players of the Year: Cougars' point guard T.J. Walker and Warriors' forward Brian Gomes.

"If we had played our game, we would have had a chance to win," said Cougars' head coach Bill Odell, whose team got as close as one in the final three minutes. "We tried to do too much there at the end and broke our own back with some silly passes and bad shot selection."

The Cougars lost for the first time at Murchison Gym since 1995 and suffered their first GSAC loss since falling 93-90 to Westmont in Azusa last January, snapping their 13-game conference winning streak.

Westmont got out of the gate early, taking a 28-20 lead with 5:39 remaining in the first half. The Warriors extended the lead to 42-27 at the half, outrebounding the Cougars 23-15 and shooting 50% from the field (16-of-32). The stingy Westmont defense held APU to a meager 10-for-28 from the field in the first frame (35.7%), forcing 13 turnovers.

"We just didn't come to play in the first half," said Walker. "We knew this was a big game and hoped we could steal one, but it just didn't happen."

The Cougars slowly started to chip away at the Warriors' lead, slicing the lead to 46-37 with 15:12 remaining. A three-point basket by junior guard Jerome Joseph and a three-point play by junior forward Damian Raibon with 7:22 to play brought the Cougars to within two at 54-52. But, the Cougars never could regain the lead and the Warriors would pull away from there.

Azusa Pacific was led by Walker, who tallied 15 points, with Joseph, Kevin Daley, and Jason Boswell adding 13 points apiece. Gomes paced the Warriors with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Joe Falconer added 15, hitting 4-of-5 free throws down the stretch to keep the Cougars at bey.

The Cougars, who drop to 14-3 and 1-1 in the GSAC, return to action next Tuesday at Point Loma Nazarene.