Since beating No. 8-ranked Biola nearly 2 weeks ago, Azusa Pacific has fallen into a shooting funk. In a loss last Saturday at Concordia, the Cougar shot a miserable 23.5% from the floor. In Tuesday's setback to Cal Baptist, the Cougars missed 25 of their first 36 shots. Tonight, the ice-cold Cougars couldn't find their shot again, and added to their struggles by not playing much defense either.

Freshman Mike Hornbuckle, who scored a career-high 21 points against Cal Baptist, continued his offensive surge, pouring in a career-high 26 points tonight. He hit back-to-back treys to open the game and give Azusa Pacific its only lead of the night. From there, Point Loma took over the rest of the night.

Azusa Pacific made just 3 field goals over the final 9 minutes of the first half, and the Sea Lions used a 15-6 run to move out to a 40-29 lead at halftime. PLNU knocked down 16-of-30 shots in the first half, including 5 3-pointers, while Azusa Pacific missed 24-of-35 shots.

Behind Hornbuckle's play, Azusa Pacific rallied in the second half, pulling to within 3 on 4 different occasions in the final 7 minutes of the game. However, Point Loma Nazarene made its free throws down the stretch, making 9-of-10 in the last 3 minutes. Meanwhile, the Cougars, who had plenty of chances to win the game by forcing 4 Sea Lion turnovers in the last 2 minutes, missed 4 3-point shots in the final 15 seconds, allowing Point Loma Nazarene to escape with its first victory over Azusa Pacific since 1999.

Shannon Coward led Point Loma with 20 points, including 12 in the second half. Ryan Hatch added 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Sea Lions' 80 points are the most allowed by an Azusa Pacific team in regulation play since a depleted Cougar unit yielded 100 to The Master's back on Jan. 4.

With the victory, Point Loma's first over Azusa Pacific in San Diego since 1992, the Sea Lions improve to 6-21 overall, 5-11 in the GSAC. Azusa Pacific falls to 20-8 overall, 12-5 in the GSAC, still a half-game behind front-runner Biola.