COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Whoever said it takes 40 minutes to win a basketball game would have a hard time convincing Azusa Pacific coach Danielle Jorgenson. At least tonight they would.

For nearly 35 minutes Jorgenson's team was on par with the NAIA's No. 13-ranked Vanguard, and even out-played the Lions during several stretches. But it was those dreaded 5 minutes way back in the first half that cost Azusa Pacific a shot at victory and sole possession of first place in the GSAC.

Vanguard used a 20-6 run over the final 5 minutes of the first half to take control of a tight game and then held on to beat No. 22-ranked Azusa Pacific, 85-76, in a key GSAC contest between the 2 first-place teams.

The Lions closed the first half by making 7 of their final 9 shots, including 6 consecutive 3-pointers, to turn a 25-23 deficit at the 5:43 mark into a 43-31 halftime lead. The Lions shot a respectable 44% (16-for-36) from the floor in the first half but were a sizzling 53% (9-for-17) from beyond the 3-point arc.

Gunned down by the first-half-ending run, the Cougars' woes continued in the opening minutes of the second half, slipping behind by as much as 19 points (57-38) less than 4 minutes into the half.

In times of desperation teams often turn to a box-and-1 defense to slow down a hot hand. However, it was at this point that the Cougars turned to a simple aBoxä offense to find a hot hand. On every trip down court the ball touched the hands of freshman Allison Box, who scored 19 of her game-high 25 points in the second half. Behind her 3-point shooting, Box whittled the Lion advantage down to 7 points. But the Cougars ran out of time and gas, allowing Vanguard to knock off Azusa Pacific for the fourth straight time.

Junior Jennifer Barbone aided the comeback cause by recording 13 of her 24 points in the second half.

With the loss, Azusa Pacific has its 6-game winning streak snapped and falls to 16-5 overall, 6-3 in the GSAC a game behind front-running Vanguard.