SANTA BARBARA, Calif. –- Luke Allen scored 6 consecutive points in the final 2 minutes to lift unranked Westmont to a stunning 79-72 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over the NAIA's No. 3-ranked Azusa Pacific, Tuesday night in Santa Barbara.
Azusa Pacific rallied from 10 down with 6 minutes to play on the strength of Matt Oliver's jump shooting to tie the game at 71-71 with 1:53 to play. However, Allen single-handedly snapped the Warriors out of a mini-funk with a jumper that put Westmont back in the lead at 73-71 with 90 seconds left. After the Cougars' Tristan King made 1-of-2 free throws, Allen came back to induce a foul on Azusa Pacific's Demario Butler. Allen canned both free throws to give Westmont a 3-point cushion with just under a minute to play. The Cougars' Scott Zea could not convert on long 3-point shot from the right side and Allen came down with the rebound and was subsequently fouled, again making both free throws to clinch Westmont's first victory over Azusa Pacific in 3 years.
Azusa Pacific was paced by Zea's 16 points and 6 rebounds, while Butler added 14 points. Oliver scored 10 points, including 8 in the final 6 minutes.
All-GSAC center Santiago Aguirre led Westmont with a game-high 23 points, including 6 early points in the second half on 3 straight shots to help lead Westmont back from a 9-point hole less than a minute into the second half. Westmont used 14-2 run early in the second half, taking a 53-51 lead on Allen's trey with 13:23 left in the game. The Warriors never trailed again, though Azusa Pacific did tie the game one last time at 71-71 on Oliver's turnaround jumper with 1:53 left in the game.
Allen finished with 17 points off the bench.
With the loss Azusa Pacific falls to 4-1, 0-1 in the GSAC. Westmont improves to 4-1 overall, 2-0 in the GSAC.
