SAN DIEGO, CALIF. -- The NAIA's No. 7-ranked Azusa Pacific took advantage of a foul-plagued Point Loma Nazarene to kick-start its own offense and sprint away with an 88-74 GSAC victory Saturday night.
Down by 11 points at 39-28 with 4:36 left in the first half, the Cougars went on a 15-2 run that was capped by an Isamu Nichols' buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the top of the key, giving Azusa Pacific a 43-41 halftime lead. The Cougars continued the wave on into the second half, eventually out-scoring the Crusaders 60-35 over the final 25 minutes of the game.
"I don't know the exact spot where we turned it around," said Cougar coach Bill Odell, "but when we picked up our defensive pressure everyone picked up their play, especially in the second half."
Cougar forwards Kevin Daley and Damian Raibon combined for 27 points, 12 rebounds and 6 steals, all in the second half, to lead Azusa Pacific's sprint. Daley finished the game with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 7 steals. Raibon concluded the night with a career-high 18 points on an impressive 8-for-9 shooting. However, it was senior guard Jerome Joseph who kept the Cougars afloat in the first half, scoring half of his team-high 20 points in the opening frame of play.
Point Loma used an 8-0 run early in the game to take an 11-4 lead. The Crusaders maintained control of the game, making 12 of their first 23 shots while forcing 11 Cougar turnovers. However Point Loma's top 2 scorers -- B.J. Foster and Travis Lindstrom -- each picked up their third foul within 30 seconds of each other which in essense brought the Crusader offense to a grinding halt for the final 3:46 of the first half. Azusa Pacific took advantage with the run that resulted in the halftime lead, the Cougars' first lead since a 4-3 margin early on.
Early in the second half, Foster picked up his fourth foul and returned to the bench with 17:48 remaining. The Cougars then jumped all over the short-handed Crusaders, making 10 of their first 16 shots of the second half and using an 11-2 run to take a commanding 62-50 lead that eventually ballooned to as much as 18 points (83-65 with 4:24 left in the game).
Point Loma was paced by Lindstrom's 21 points while Foster finished with 19 in just 24 minutes of play.
Nichols, who returned to play after missing Thursday's game at Biola, tallied 16 points. Freshman Jeff Staniland added 12 points, including 10 in the first half.
Azusa Pacific has now won 18 of the past 19 meetings with Point Loma. The Cougars improve to 12-3 overall, 2-1 in the GSAC. Point Loma, which won 13 of its first 14 games of the season, suffers its first back-to-back losses of the campaign (lost at Christian Heritage on Thursday) and falls to 13-3 overall, 1-2 in the GSAC.
