AZUSA, Calif. -- It took about 32 minutes to get the engine fired up and going, and even when it finally did, it didn’t run very long. However, the motor ran long enough for the NAIA’s No. 4-ranked Azusa Pacific to get an 83-75 victory over Warner Pacific in the opening round of the Cougar Classic.

The Cougars struggled throughout the night to find a rhythm at both the offensive or defensive ends. It took sparks off the bench by Dennis Coutee, Spencer Foster and Brice Prather to seal the victory and keep a feisty Warner Pacific off the Cougars’ backs.

The trio of reserves combined for 36 points led by Coutee’s 14. Foster added 13 points, 10 in the second half. The Cougars used a 19-5 run, it’s only outburst of the game, over a 7-minute stretch to assume a 79-63 lead with 4:46 left in the game. The Cougars made a trio of treys in the run and Foster dropped in back-to-back buckets to finally give the Cougars some breathing room.

In a less than smooth-operating first half, Azusa Pacific held a 46-39 advantage behind Ryan Dillon’s 10 points. Coutee came off the bench to drop in 9 points as did Brice Prather. However, the Cougars missed 25-of-39 shots, including 7 lay-ups and a dozen 3-pointers.

Warner used a 10-0 run to take its only lead of the game at 22-16 and still held it a 24-20 before the Cougars answered with a with a 7-0 burst to resume a lead it would never relinquish the rest of the game.

Dillon finished with a team-high 18 points. Warner Pacific was paced by Joe Hoover’s 24, including 17 in the second half. Coutee added a game-high 10 rebounds.

With the victory, Azusa Pacific squares its record at 2-2 while Warner Pacific falls to 2-1.