AZUSA, Calif. –- That game plan was simple, properly executing it was the real challenge. Yet for the NAIA’s No. 24-ranked Azusa Pacific, implementation was near-perfect this time, and as a result the Cougars avenged their first loss of the season by downing No. 20 Westmont, 78-67, Tuesday night before a crowd of 823 in the Felix Event Center.
Two months ago the Cougars were torched by Westmont’s All-GSAC center Santiago Aguirre in a 7-point Warrior upset of then No. 3-ranked Azusa Pacific. This time, in an effort to get Santiago out of the game, the Cougars attacked the 6-foot-8 senior center and got him in quick foul trouble, which put on him on the bench and out of the game for the time being.
No Aguirre? No problem for the Cougars.
With Aguirre sidelined by 2 first-half fouls, the Cougars went to work, fashioning a 13-3 run against an out-manned set of Warriors, and assumed control of the game at 33-19. Senior forwards Tristan King and Scott Zea led the charge by accounting for all 13 points in the run. The Cougars eventually led by 11 at 38-27 at halftime, and in the end, that 4-minute Cougar run proved to be the difference. Azusa Pacific maintained a 12-point advantage throughout most of the second half and was never seriously threatened in the final 20 minutes of play.
“We never said anything in pregame that we were going to go after Aguirre, but I emphasized it by calling plays to run at him,” said Cougar coach Bill Odell, who improves to 25-13 lifetime vs. his alma mater. “Santiago is a very skilled and mobile big man. We don’t have anyone who matches up well with him. He dominated us the first time, but tonight we did a better job of fronting him and pressuring people with the ball.”
Back in November, Aguirre tallied game highs of 23 points and 5 assists in 31 minutes of the Warriors’ 79-72 victory over Azusa Pacific in Santa Barbara. Tonight, he was limited to just 10 points, 4 assists and 4 turnovers in 22 minutes. It was enough limited playing time to allow Azusa Pacific to force its will on the outcome.
“Westmont is hard to defend,” said Odell, “but we did a better job than the first time. We held them to 67 points and 37-percent shooting.”
And it helped to have Aguirre on the bench for all but 6 minutes of the first half.
Zea led Azusa Pacific with his third double-double in the past 5 games, registering 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds and 2 steals.
“He is kind of a stabilizer for us,” assessed Odell on Zea’s recent play. “He stretches the court and you have to honor where he is at all times.”
Zea drained his only trey of the second half, a high-arching bomb from 22 feet out, to give the Cougars a 52-42 lead with 13 minutes to go after Westmont had cut the deficit to single digits for the first time since the first half. He then converted a short jumper in the key, and moments later when Mike Danielian swished another 3-pointer on a fast break, Azusa Pacific had its biggest lead of the game 60-44 with 11 minutes left.
Demario Butler added 17 points, 11 in the second half.
“Demario is getting better at taking the ball inside,” said Odell. “He’s much better at it than last year. When Westmont was in the zone tonight, we did a good job of getting the ball into the paint.”
King finished 11 points and 7 rebounds.
Westmont was paced by Luke Allen’s 23 points, 14 of which came in the second half. Freshman Andrew Schmalbach added 13. His corner trey with 70 seconds left pulled the Warriors to within 6 at 71-65. However, the Cougars made 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute, and Butler closed out the game with a breakaway dunk for the final margin of victory.
With the win Azusa Pacific has now won 3 straight and improves to 19-3 overall, 9-3 in the GSAC, a game behind league-leader Concordia, which the Cougars visit Saturday (Feb. 3) in a 7:30 p.m. game in Irvine. Westmont falls to 11-8 overall, 6-6 in the GSAC.
