HONOLULU, Hawaii. -- The NAIA’s No. 25-ranked Azusa Pacific found the perfect Hawaiian wave and rode it for a 9-minute stretch that resulted in a 27-2 run which in turn produced an easy 92-49 Cougar victory over Menlo College late Saturday night at the Whitworth Hawaiian Classic in Honolulu.
Down 20-15 midway through the first half, the Cougars caught fire, scoring 27 of the game’s next 29 points, 15 of which came from the 3-point arc. Senior guard Ryan Dillon led the onslaught tallying 9 of his season-high 20 points during the run. Fellow senior Brett Michel, who had 16 points for the game, capped the run with a trey that put the Cougars up 42-22 with 2 minutes to play in the half. The run was similar in style to a 23-0 blitz Azusa Pacific fashioned earlier in the week in a victory at home over Spring Arbor University.
Azusa Pacific torched the nets from the 3-point arc with 55% shooting, draining 17 triples to tie the school single-game record first set 2 years ago against Florida College in a tournament at The Master’s College. The Cougars converted 10-of-15 bombs in the first half to lead 47-31 at the intermission.
For the game, Dillon canned 6 treys, 1 shy in the school individual record, and Michel buried 4-of-6 from the 3-point arc. Sophomore Nate Pratt dropped in 15 points, 1 shy of his career-high, including 9 from downtown. Meanwhile, freshman Jeff Bates continued to display a hot shooting hand by tallying 12 points. Over the past 4 games Bates, a walk-on from Salem, Ore., is averaging 10.3 points while shooting 58% from the floor which includes a fine 8-for-12 clip from the 3-point stripe.
While the Cougars were knocking down their shots, they were blocking Menlo’s attempts, swatting 11 Oak field goal shots. The Cougar frontline of Lance Soderberg, Danny Rosales and Brice Prather each blocked 3 shots in the game. As a result, Menlo shot a paltry 27% (16-for-60) for the game, including a microscopic 19% (7-for-36) in the second half, best explaining why the Oaks registered just 18 second-half points.
With the victory, Azusa Pacific pushes its winning streak to 6 straight and improves to 8-3 on the season. Menlo, a member of the NAIA-affiliated CalPac, falls to 1-5.
The Cougars take Sunday off and close out the Whitworth Hawaiian Classic on Monday (Dec. 22) against Whitman College of Walla Walla, Wash., at 1 p.m. (3 p.m. PST).
