AZUSA, Calif. – Try as it might, Azusa Pacific just didn't have the horses needed to compete against the GSAC's biggest frontline. The Master's used its beefy players and some pinpoint shooting from the perimeter to hand Azusa Pacific its worst Golden State Athletic Conference loss in over 15 years, 100-72.
Down 2 big men itself – 6-foot-8 center Brice Prather (knee injury) and 6-foot-5 Spencer Foster (academically ineligible) – the Cougars gave a gallant effort for about 10 minutes. Colton Cornfoot made 4 of his first 5 shots, including a trio of treys, and Azusa Pacific scooted out to a 16-11 lead 8 minutes into the game.
However, The Master's switched its defensive scheme, put a different man of Cornfoot and then went to work, cleaning the glass, running the floor and nailing deep jumpers. Ryan Read buried 5-of-8 shots from beyond the arc and scored a game-high 23 points. His backcourt mate Joe Deister drained 4 3-pointers to keep the Cougar defense on the move and account for all 12 of his points. In the meantime, 6-foot-8 Chris Sanders, 6-foot-7 Caleb Adcock and 6-foot-7 Lavar Simmons controlled the paint, combining for 43 points and 18 of The Master's 40 rebounds (TMC out-rebounded Azusa Pacific, 40-20). In a word, the Cougars were dominated.
Read scored 10 points during a 19-3 Mustang run late in the first half that turned a 31-30 deficit into a 49-34 cushion. He banged home a pair of 3-pointers while Sanders added another, all part of a 12-for-19 shooting The Master's showcased from downtown.
Azusa Pacific trailed 49-36 at halftime and could get no closer than 10 at 63-53 in the second half. At that point, TMC reeled off another run to move out to a 21-point lead at 87-66 following a Read lay-up.
After the defensive switch, Cornfoot never threatened again, going 1-for-13 the rest of the game. He finished with 14 points, 11 of which came in the first 5 minutes of the game. Lance Soderberg, the only Cougar over 6-foot-5, recorded 15 points and 6 rebounds. Freshman Mike Hornbuckle tallied 12 points.
The 28-point loss is the Cougars' biggest margin of defeat since a 29-point setback to Utah in 1999 and the worst GSAC loss since a 35-point loss to Westmont in 1989.
With the victory, The Master's improves to 8-3 overall, 2-0 in the GSAC. Azusa Pacific falls to 9-5 overall, 1-2 in the GSAC.
