AZUSA, Calif. -- Just like the old 1970's commercial slogan of "Thanks, I needed that," it took a much-needed slap on the face to spark the NAIA's No. 25-ranked Azusa Pacific to an 80-61 victory over visiting Spring Arbor University in the Felix Event Center Monday night.
Spring Arbor scored 17 consecutive points to manhandle a sluggish set of Cougars and jump out to a 17-2 lead to start the game. Sophomore guard Micah Lancaster made 6 straight shots, including a trey, to lead the Spring Arbor sprint from the gate, which included inducing Azusa Pacific into 6 turnovers as well.
A pair of timeouts and a clearing of the bench didn't seem to help either. Azusa Pacific missed 11 of its first 13 shots and was still down 21-5 nearly halfway through the first half. Indeed the slap was mighty.
"We just needed to play basketball our way and with some energy," said Cougar coach Bill Odell.
Azusa Pacific eventually responded and used a 21-0 run over a 5-minute stretch to not only erase the deficit but take a 32-26 lead with 3 minutes to play in the half. Four consecutive treys, including 3 straight by Ryan Dillon paced the Cougar comeback.
Still Azusa Pacific couldn't enjoy good fortune and trailed at the half, 36-34, after Spring Arbor closed with a 10-2 run. Lancaster had 22 of Spring Arbor's first-half 36 counters after making 8-of-11 shots, which included a pair of treys.
With their feet now under them and some pop to their play, the Cougars turned on the defensive screws in the second half and ran away from a tiring Spring Arbor. Azusa Pacific used another big run, this time a 16-0 whitewash in the opening minutes of the second half to take a 50-38 lead. The Cougars put the pressure on Spring Arbor which in turn missed 12 straight shots at one point, relaying on just 6 free throws to change its score.
Lancaster, who burned the Cougars in the opening minutes of the game, missed 14 of his final 16 shots, including all 11 in the second half.
"We really didn't do anything different with him," said Odell. "We stepped up a little more on him in the second half and provided some help defense. But we really didn't concentrate on trying to stop him."
Sophomore Lance Soderberg led the Cougars by registering his first-ever double-double with team-highs of 18 points, including 12 in the second half, and a career-high 13 rebounds. Dillon finished with 15 points, 11 of which came in the first half, and Brett Michel and Larry English each chipped in with 10 points. Senior center Danny Rosales added 8 points and 10 rebounds.
Azusa Pacific out-rebounded Spring Arbor, 53-35, which included a hefty 35-22 margin in the second half.
With the victory Azusa Pacific, which has now won a season-high 4 straight, improves to 6-3 while Spring Arbor falls to 5-8.
