The NAIA's No. 9-ranked Cougars struggled with their shot and found themselves deep in a hole that they couldn't climb out of, eventually falling to unranked Cal Baptist, 73-69, in a Golden State Athletic Conference game. The loss, which combined with Saturday's defeat at Concordia not only hands Azusa Pacific's its first back-to-back conference setbacks since 1996, but it also knocks the Cougars out of first-place in the GSAC. With Biola beating Fresno Pacific, the Eagles move a half-game ahead of Azusa Pacific with 4 games left for the Cougars.

The Cougars, who missed a stunning 52-of-68 shots in an 8-point loss at Concordia, could not shake the shooting doldrums tonight and missed 25 of their first 36 shots against Cal Baptist. In other words, over the course of a 62-minute span of play between the Concordia and Cal Baptist games, the Cougars were shooting a dismal 26% (27-for-104) from the floor. And tonight had it not been for freshman Mike Hornbuckle, Azusa Pacific would not have even had a chance to win this one at the end.

Hornbuckle matched his career-high with 21 points, draining 7-of-12 shots, including a 4-for-5 clip from the 3-point arc in the second half when the Cougars actually rallied into the lead.47-44 following a Hornbuckle trey midway through the half. However, even when Azusa Pacific seemingly found its shot, the Cougars lost their stroke at the line, missing its last 3 free throws, all of which could have knotted the score.

As it was, the Cougars were fighting an uphill battle over the final 7 minutes and couldn't get over the hump. On the other hand, Cal Baptist made 13 of its final 14 free throws down the stretch to keep Azusa Pacific at bay and in the process collect its first-ever victory at the Felix Event Center.

Junior Peter Rajniak, who came into the game averaging 9 points a game, led the Lancers with a career-high 26 points, including 16 in the second half. Jeff Mailhot and Junior Denson each added 10.

Lance Soderberg had 19 points for the Cougars while Brice Prather added 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

With the loss, Azusa Pacific falls to 20-7 overall, 12-4 in the GSAC. Cal Baptist, which celebrates only its second victory over the Cougars in the past 10 years, improves to 18-7 overall, 10-5 in the GSAC.