AZUSA, Calif. -- The NAIA’s No. 5-ranked Azusa Pacific played an impressive first half of basketball to construct a 28-point lead and then held off a late furious charge to beat the NAIA defending champion and No. 2-ranked Concordia, 94-88, Saturday evening before a Felix Event Center crowd of 2,430.
Azusa Pacific parlayed tremendous bench play and a physical frontline presence to force Concordia to buckle like it never has all season. The Cougars led 56-34 at halftime and was up 64-36 with 17:39 left in the game before Concordia was able to put together a comeback.
The Cougars used a 19-7 run for a 6-minute stretch to get control of the game at 31-19. Cougar reserves Nate Pratt, Brice Prather and Spencer Foster scored 12 of the 19 points during the run which was capped by a Foster trey from the top of the key.
While the majority of the Cougar starters returned to action, Pratt stayed in the game and ignited a 17-7 Cougar blast over the final 4 minutes of the half, draining back-to-back treys in the process that led to Azusa Pacific’s 22-point halftime lead.
And as outstanding as the Cougar offense was in the first half, so too was its defense. In the first meeting this season in Irvine, Concordia’s frontline of 6-foot-10 Nick Vanderlaan and 6-foot-8 Tanner Luster manhandled Azusa Pacific’s undersized front into 71-55 Eagle victory, Azusa Pacific’s worst conference defeat in 8 years. This time, however, the Cougar front pushed back and blocked 6 shots in the first half , 3 each of Vanderlaan and Luster. Foster led the way with 3 blocks, but it was Danny Rosales’ stuff off a Vanderlaan dunk attempt that highlighted the Cougars’ defensive stand. They forced Concordia into 32% (9-for-28) shooting in the first half and an uncharacteristic 10 turnovers which Azusa Pacific turned into 17 points.
“I didn’t want us to back down as we did in the first game,” said Cougar coach Bill Odell. “It was a war tonight.”
Knowing full well that Concordia was now desperate and would tighten the defensive screws with full-court pressure, Azusa Pacific went on the attack itself, opening the second half with an 8-2 run that gave the Cougars the 64-36 lead.
Concordia’s defensive pressure finally produced results that in turn allowed the Eagles to go on a 20-5 run and pull to within 10 at 70-60 with 8 minutes left in the game.
“Concordia is great a team,” said Odell, “and they play great pressure defense. We got tentative, got bumped around in the second and backed away.”
Azusa Pacific’s physical play also caught up, and both Prather and Rosales fouled out and were gone for the final 4:39 of play. Yet, Foster and Lance Soderberg stood their own down the stretch against Vanderlaan and Luster and kept the Eagles at bay.
“No individual player stood out tonight, but we played well as a team,” said Odell. “I will say though that Lance had a great second half.”
The Eagles chased the Cougars all the way back to within 6 points at 80-74 with just under 3 minutes to play and got to within 4 at 90-86 with 25 seconds remaining. Cougar point guard Larry English and Soderberg combined for 6 straight free throws in the last half minute to clinch to victory.
The Cougar bench outscored Concordia’s reserves, 29-13, and more surprisingly Azusa Pacific out-scored Concordia in the paint, 40-36.
English led the Cougars with 18 points, several of which came off acrobatic drives to the basket. Pratt and Soderberg, both of whom were 5-for-6 from the floor, each finished with 16 points, 11 of which came in the first half for Pratt. Ryan Dillon had 13 points, 6 off back-to-back treys with 5 minutes left in the game. Foster finished with 7 points, a team-high 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Vanderlaan paced Concordia with game highs of 29 points and 16 rebounds, 16 and 9 of which came in the second half.
In all, there were 55 fouls in the game, 28 of which were assigned to Cougars, and the teams combined for 73 free throw attempts.
“I don’t think any of my teams have ever committed 28 fouls in a game until tonight,” Odell added.
Azusa Pacific, which has now won 22 of its past 23 games, improves to 24-4 overall. Additionally, the Cougars move into first place in the GSAC at 15-1, a half game ahead of Concordia. The victory also assures that the 1993 Azusa Pacific team remains as the only undefeated squad ever in Golden State Athletic Conference history. Concordia, which was making a strong bid to join that 1993 Cougar team in the realm of perfection, has its school-record 22-game winning streak snapped, falling to 23-2 overall, and suffers its first GSAC loss of the campaign, slipping to 14-1 in conference play.
