AZUSA, CALIF. – Jerome Joseph hit a short jumper with 7 seconds remaining to lift the NAIA's No. 7-ranked Azusa Pacific to a 79-77 victory over Vanguard in both teams' GSAC opener Tuesday night. Vanguard Brandon Cablay's driving lay-up hit the back iron as time expired, preserving the Cougar win.

Joseph led the Cougars in scoring with 23 points, while Kevin Daley provided 16 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

Azusa Pacific fell behind early and trailed 24-16 with 10:17 remaining in the first half. Owen Healy sparked a 24-6 Cougar run when he canned a jumper with 9:16 left in the half to send the Cougars on their way to a 40-30 lead. Joseph scored nine points during the run, and the Cougars led 42-36 at halftime.

Vanguard erased Azusa Pacific's 6-point halftime lead with a 13-4 run to start the second half, taking a 49-46 lead on a Dennis Keane trey with 15:53 left in the game. The Lions had their biggest lead at 72-68 when Cablay hit a jumper with 6:09 left to play. The Cougars rallied with a 9-2 run to assume a 77-74 lead. Vanguard's John Kohlhaas buried a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to knot the score at 77-77, setting up Joseph's heroics.

Healy came off the bench for his first career double-double. His 10-point, 11-rebound performance included 6 offensive rebounds, helping the Cougars overcome 41% (33-for-81) shooting on the game.

The contest featured 21 lead changes, and the Cougars held their largest lead at 40-30 when Isamu Nichols scored a lay-up with 3:02 remaining in the half. Azusa Pacific out-rebounded Vanguard 51-39, including 25 boards on the offensive glass.

Dennis Keane led Vanguard with 27 points on 10-for-15 shooting, which included a 5-for-6 clip at the 3-point line.

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 11-2 on the season (1-0 GSAC), while Vanguard drops to 8-5 (0-1 GSAC).