AZUSA, Calif. -- Just when they needed it most, Azusa Pacific got the necessary shot in the arm from the doctor.
Azusa Pacific used a steady defensive effort, some clutch shooting from the free throw line and key buckets from the 3-point arc to pull off its biggest win of the season, a 78-68 victory over NCAA Division II No. 2-ranked Cal Poly Pomona in the opening game of the Hope International Tournament.
Seniors Brett Michel and Ryan Dillon each tossed each a team-high 13 points to pace the Cougars. Perhaps though it was the demoted Lance Soderberg who had the biggest hand in Azusa Pacific’s victory. After starting the first 5 games and producing just 13 points in the past 3 contests combined, Soderberg came off the bench tonight to drop in 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds in 23 minutes of play.
“Lance played with a lot more confidence tonight,” said Cougar coach Bill Odell. “He went to the basket and paid off.”
Azusa Pacific led 36-30 at halftime and pushed its to lead to as much as 11 points (59-48) following a Larry English 3-point basket, his second of the half, hitting one 5 minutes early to thwart a Cal Poly comeback in which the Broncos rallied to within 2 at 42-40.
“When we worked the ball around and got him open looks, Larry knocked them down,” said Odell.
Behind Jeff Bonds’ game-high 20 points, Cal Poly made one last push at Azusa Pacific and whittled the Cougar lead down to 4 at 67-63 with 4:37 left in the game. However, the Cougars made 11 of 12 free throws down the stretch to push the lead back to 10 for the final margin of victory.
“Cal Poly started pressing a bit by shooting threes,” said Odell. “We did a good job of closing out and getting the rebounds.”
Azusa Pacific out-rebounded Cal Poly, 32-21, and though the Cougars got only 43 shots, they buried 25 of them for a fine .581 clip from the floor.
“We shot the ball really well, and that got us going early,” said Odell.
After dropping 3 of their past 4 games and 5 of 7 dating back to last year, the victory over last year’s NCAA Division II quarterfinalist certainly boosts the confidence for a team trying to find its identity.
“The guys knew this was a big game coming in,” said Odell, “and they played very well. The played consistently throughout the night and stepped up a key moments. We didn’t go as deep into the bench as we usually do but we got a more of consistent effort.”
With the victory Azusa Pacific improves to 3-3 on the season while Cal Poly falls to 0-1. The Cougars meet Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday (Nov. 22) to close out the Hope International Tournament.
