AZUSA, Calif. -- By the game’s end, students were collectively shaking 1,500 keys over their heads, but none of them had the one Andrew Lasker needed. That one belonged to Azusa Pacific’s
Brett Michel, who had the lock and key on Lasker.
By virtue of Michel’s defensive performance, the NAIA’s No. 10-ranked Azusa Pacific downed Point Loma Nazarene, 68-55, in a Golden State Athletic Conference game Friday night. The victory, which is Azusa Pacific’s 16th in the past 17 games, keeps the Cougars a half game behind conference frontrunner Concordia at the midway point of conference play.
Lasker, who entered the contest averaging a GSAC-best 19.2 points a game, was taken out his game the first 25 minutes by a cagey Michel, which in turn allowed Azusa Pacific to open a double-digit lead that the Sea Lions could never overcome. Lasker missed 7 of his first 8 shots and had just 6 points with 15 minutes left in the game. And though, he ended with 15 points and 7 rebounds, the game left him behind long before the end.
“First of all, this is a lot of fun,” said Michel of his defensive showing tonight. “It’s been 4 years of this, Andrew and me going head-to-head. I had 2 pretty good defensive games against him last year. We talk about it in the summer and every time we see each other. It’s always a battle. Tonight I just tried to stay ahead of him and use my smarts because he is really quick. He could very well be the conference MVP, and I take pride in guarding him.”
And Michel wasn’t alone in his defensive stance. As a group, Azusa Pacific held Point Loma to a season-low 55 points, 19 under its season average, while forcing 19 turnovers and allowing just 39% shooting from the floor, thanks in part to 8 blocked shots.
“I take pride in my defense,” added Michel, “but I didn’t do it alone. I had a lot of help out there tonight.”
Azusa Pacific opened a high-energy second half with a 7-2 run to move out to 36-23 lead following the first of a 3 Ryan Dillon treys in the second half. Time and again, Point Loma fought to get back into the contest, trimming 14- and 15-point Cougar leads down to 10, but the Cougars drained a series of critical triples to thwart every Point Loma attempt at a comeback. At one point, Nate Pratt and Dillon poured in 3 consecutive treys for the Cougars, including 28-foot bomb off Dillon’s fingertips that give the Cougars a 56-43 lead with 6:19 left in the game.
“When we’re not doing well, we’re hesitant,” said Azusa Pacific coach Bill Odell. “At that point, I think the confidence was there and the guys were feeling it at the offensive end.”
Dillon led the Cougars with a game-high 16 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Larry English tossed in 12 points to go along with 8 assists. Michel finished with 10 points.
“Brett is not as slow as everyone thinks,” said Odell. “I thought he just did a great job position-wise, denying Lasker the ball, containing him at the right times, forcing him into tough shots and keeping him off the boards.”
Azusa Pacific led 29-21 at the half primarily on the strength of some quality defense. The half had little rhythm and both teams were seemingly frustrated. Yet, a 7-1 run over the final 3 minutes allowed the Cougars to take its largest lead of the game into the locker room at halftime. Point Loma missed 14-of-22 shots in the first half, 4 of which were blocked, and the Cougars forced the Sea Lions into 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.
With the victory, which is the Cougars’ tenth straight over Point Loma and the 27th in the past 28 meetings, Azusa Pacific improves to 18-4 overall, 9-1 in the GSAC. Point Loma, which came into the game playing its best basketball of the season after winning 3 of its past 5, falls to 9-12 overall, 4-6 in the GSAC.
