Cougars Bomb Their Way Into Finals

AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific junior Brett Michel hit 5-of-7 three-point bombs, scoring a career-high 23 points, and junior All-GSAC Caleb Gervin added 21 points to lift the NAIA's No. 12-ranked Cougars to an 80-64 victory over No. 21-ranked Westmont in the GSAC Tournament semifinals.

The win puts the Cougars into Tuesday night's finals where they will face the winner of top-seeded Biola and Christian Heritage at 8 p.m.  It also avenges the Cougars' 79-72 loss to the Warriors in the regular-season finale last Tuesday night in Azusa.

"This is how we played the first 8 minutes of Tuesday's game," added Odell.  "Tonight, however, we stayed with our game plan.  It's been a gut-check for us lately, and we have been fighting through this for some time.  At least we know now that we can play."

After a helter-skelter first 15 minutes where the teams exchanged 8 leads, the Cougars began to assume control with a 12-2 run, which included back-to-back 3-pointers from senior All-GSAC John Bourne sandwiched between back-to-back lay-ups by Gervin and senior Gary Dredge.

Westmont opened the second half with the first 5 points to close within 5.  However Gervin scored 7 straight points to ignite the Cougars to a 23-10 run to assume an 18-point (55-37) cushion with 11:14 to play.

All-GSAC Chris Clark scored a pair of buckets around a Joe Ortiz 3-pointer to bring Westmont back within 7 (60-53) with 5:24 left, but Michel and Gervin hit back-to-back treys, pushing the lead back up to double-digits.  The Cougars ended the game out-scoring the Warriors, 20-11, keyed by Michel's performance as he scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half.

"Bret shoots that way in practice, and we knew he'd get open looks with Westmont's defense," said Azusa Pacific head coach Bill Odell.  "It was just a matter of him knocking them down.  For him it's a matter of confidence and momentum."

Bourne added 13 points and 5 rebounds for the Cougars, and Dredge grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.  For the game, the Cougars hit 10-of-19 threes.

Clark finished with 20 points to lead the Warriors.  All-GSAC Mitch Pierce chipped in with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors.

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 24-7, while Westmont falls to 20-9.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Caleb Gervin: G; 6' 1"; Junior

#30 John Bourne: F; 6' 4"; Senior

#32 Brett Michel: F; 6' 7"; Sophomore

#53 Gary Dredge: C; 6' 9"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#4 Caleb Gervin
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

#30 John Bourne
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F

#32 Brett Michel
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: F

#53 Gary Dredge
: 6' 9"; Senior
: C