SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- Junior guard
Larry English scored a season-high 18 points, including 11 in the second half, to lead the NAIA's No. 25-ranked Azusa Pacific to a 72-68 come-from-behind victory over The Master's College in a key GSAC contest Saturday night in Bross Gym.
English made 4-of-5 shots from the 3-point arc, including all 3 of his attempts in the second half during a Cougar outburst that allowed Azusa Pacific to retake control of the game.
The Cougars trailed by 4 (35-31) at the half and were down by as much as 9 in the second half before mounting a rally that led them to their 28th victory in 35 meetings with The Master's.
Senior Brett Michel tossed in 13 points, including his final 3 that came off a conventional 3-point play that pushed the Cougar lead to 68-60 with 2:44 left in the game.
But just as they had in the closing minutes of the first half, the Mustangs put together another late charge, going on an 8-2 run to pull to within 2 at 70-68 following a Micah McKinney jumper with 39 seconds left. After English missed 2 free throws with 20 seconds remaining, The Master’s had another chance to complete its own comeback, but English followed his miscues at the line by cutting off McKinney going baseline and forcing him into a traveling call that gave Azusa Pacific the ball and the victory with 8 seconds to play. Senior guard Ryan Dillon drained a pair of free throws to ice the victory.
Azusa Pacific held a 3-point cushion throughout most of the first half, but The Master’s used a 16-4 run that spanned across both halves to not only lead at halftime but push its margin to 9 at 43-34 less than 4 minutes into the second half.
At that point, Azusa Pacific coach Bill Odell employed a rather unusual line-up consisting of 3 freshmen, a sophomore and one senior to spark the Cougars back into the game. Rookies Spencer Foster, Jeff Bates, and Brice Prather and sophomore Kasey Myers came off the bench to team with Michel to ignite a 24-6 Cougar run that put Azusa Pacific back into the game and into a 58-49 lead with 6:51 to play. At one point, Myers and Foster combined for 3 straight offensive rebounds to give the Cougars 4 shots in one possession, ending with a Michel lay-up off a save by Foster.
“I’ve used that line-up in the past because its given us energy,” said Odell. “They play hard and it affects everyone in the game and on the bench.”
Dillon, a usual long-ball threat who has struggled in recent games by making just 3-of-23 from the 3-point arc, buried his only 3-point shot of the night with 12:40 left in the game, giving Azusa Pacific the lead for good at 48-46.
“You have to give Ryan credit for hanging in there,” said Odell. “His shot hasn’t been falling, but he found other ways to help us, and who would have thought coming he would lead us in rebounding tonight with 8.”
Though The Master’s out-rebounded the Cougars by 1 (40-39), Azusa Pacific in essence won the battle of the boards against an opponent that features 4 players 6-foot-7 or taller and has been out-rebounding teams by an average margin of 10 per game.
“The difference in this game is how Danny (Rosales) made everything hard for Lavar Simmons tonight,” added Odell.
Simmons, who in the past has feasted on the Cougars, was limited to just 10 points and missed 11 of his first 12 shots before making his final 2 attempts in the last 2 minutes of the game. Additionally, Rosales received some help from Prather and Lance Soderberg in neutralizing Mustang forward Caleb Adcock, who a year ago dropped in 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds vs. the Cougars. This time, however, the 6-foot-7 sophomore was slapped with early foul trouble and was limited to just 9 points and 3 rebounds in 14 minutes of action before fouling out with 6:18 left in the game.
Azusa Pacific shot just 36% (21-for-58) from the floor, which included a paltry 10-for-34 (29%) in the first half. But they kept a potent Mustang offense in check all evening and took advantage of the Mustangs’ woes at the free throw line where they missed 6-of-9 attempts in the second half.
With the win, Azusa Pacific remains in a first-place tie in the GSAC at 3-0 with Concordia and Fresno Pacific while moving its overall record to 12-3, a far cry from the 2-3 mark it had back on Nov. 16. With the loss, The Master’s has its 9-game winning streak come to an end while suffering its first loss at home this season. The Mustangs are now 10-3 overall and 1-1 in the GSAC.
