AZUSA, Calif. – Trailing by 4 points at halftime and getting thoroughly outplayed, Azusa Pacific opened the second half with a 10-2 run to take its first lead of the game and never looked back in a 71-56 win over Cal Baptist in a GSAC game Tuesday night.
 
The win is the Cougars' 15^th straight over the Lancers and 26^th in the past 28 meetings, and it also snaps the Lancers' 9-game winning streak.
 
"When we started playing with some heart, we got back into the game," said Azusa Pacific head coach Bill Odell.  "Our defense picked us up, and we got into them at the start of the second half.  Dameon (Brewington) says to me 'Coach, lighten up, I'd like to play,' but we just did a better job defensively, which got our offense going too."
 
After Cal Baptist scored the first bucket of the second half to take 6-point lead, Azusa Pacific scored the next 10 points in just 1:04, 6 of them from senior John Bourne, to take a 36-32 lead, its first of the game and one the Cougars never relinquished.  The Cougars outscored the Lancers 46-27 in the second half.
 
"This game, by far, we played harder than any other game this year," said Bourne.  "I think Cal Baptist has turned into a rivalry for us.  They play us tough, they're physical and they're big.  It's kind of like a challenge to us."
 
The Lancers climbed back to within 2 with 11:31 to play, but the Cougars answered with a 21-9 run, including 6 in a row by senior Steve McIlwain, to take the largest lead of the game (69-53) by either team with 4:04 to play.
 
Leading 13-12 midway through the first half, Cal Baptist scored 7 straight points in a 1:26 span to open up an 8-point advantage (20-12) with 7:49 to play. The Cougars then clawed their way back with a 14-6 run to tie the game 26-26 with 52 seconds to play.  After a pair of CBU free throws upped the lead back to 2, the Cougars had a chance to tie the game heading into the locker room, but the Lancers' Dameon Brewington converted a steal into a lay-up to give the Lancers a 30-26 halftime lead.
 
Bourne led all players with 21 points, hitting 8-of-10 shots from the floor.  He also grabbed a team-high 5 rebounds.  McIlwain finished with 13 points.  Senior Gary Dredge continued his hot play with an even dozen, and junior Caleb Gervin chipped in with 10 points off the bench.  Brewington ended the night with 22 points and 8 rebounds.
 
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 15-3 overall, 5-2 in the GSAC.  Cal Baptist drops to 14-6, 5-4.