AZUSA, CALIF. – Six different players scored in double figures to lead the NAIA's No. 10-ranked Azusa Pacific to an 84-74 victory over  Hope International Saturday night in Azusa. With the win, the Cougars are assured to remain in a first-place tie for the conference lead, as 5 GSAC teams entered tonight's action with 3-1 conference records. 

Senior Justin Leslie led the Cougars with team-highs of 18 points and 8 rebounds, while sophomore Caleb Gervin scored the Cougars' final 6 points en route to a 16-point, 7-assist effort.

After going into halftime with a slim 40-34 lead, the Cougars utilized the 3-pointer, as junior John Bourne sank 2 treys and Gervin nailed another in a 14-2 run to open the second half. The spurt gave the Cougars their largest lead at 54-36 with 16:47 remaining in the contest. All 7 Cougars who attempted a 3-point shot made at least one, as Azusa Pacific shot 9-for-23 from 3-point range.

However, Hope International would never go down by more than 18, and the Royals clawed back to within 8 points at 71-63 with 5:37 to play after a pair of Randall Wilcox free throws. However, it would be nearly 3 minutes before the Royals would score again, and they would not cut the lead to single digits in the final 4 minutes.

"We knew they were much improved from last year, as they have already shown with 2 GSAC wins," said Cougar head coach Bill Odell. "We didn't play with very much defensive intensity in the first half." 

Bourne tallied 15 points and 7 rebounds, while Brett Michel, Jeff Staniland, and Steve McIlwain each contributed 10 points.  

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 4-1 in GSAC play and 17-2 overall, while Hope International drops to 2-3 in conference play, 10-9 overall.