AZUSA, Calif. -- A late Bruce English dunk left the Felix Event Center buzzing after Azusa Pacific's 107-82 win over NCAA Division III Occidental, but the high-powered Cougar offense was firing on all cylinders in Tuesday night's home opener.
Senior guard Troy Leaf scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the opening half, leading Azusa Pacific to a 19-point halftime edge, and he was joined by four of his teammates in double figures. Junior forward Jared Zoller was also in double figures by halftime, hitting all four of his shots from the field, including a three-pointer, and two free throws for 11 of his 16 points, and he was one of three double-digit scorers off the bench for the Cougars.
"We wanted to have a game where we could play fast, play aggressive, and have the opportunity to score some points, and I knew that Occidental was a team that would do a good job disrupting our rhythm," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "As a coach you can always find things you could have done better, but at the end of the day, I'm proud of this team. They did a lot of really good things, and it was nice to see them shoot the ball so well on our home floor."
Azusa Pacific shooters hit 50 percent (10-for-20) from three-point range, led by Leaf's three-for-five effort, and the Cougars were 59 percent (43-for-73) from the field while holding Occidental below 40 percent shooting on the night. Led by eight rebounds each from redshirt freshman Austin Dyer and true freshman Petar Kutlesic, Azusa Pacific controlled the boards by a 44-31 margin and limited the Tigers to just eight second-chance points.
"We should be a good three-point shooting team this year," Leslie said. "We should be able to consistently get good looks for our shooters, so it was encouraging to see that happen tonight."
Dyer added 13 points to go with his eight boards, junior guard LyDell Cardwell added 10 points and four assists, and senior forward Christian Katuala hit six-of-seven from the field to finish with 13 points. Senior point guard Robert Sandoval dished out a game-high nine of Azusa Pacific's 29 assists, and he added six steals to lead the Cougars defensively.
After opening the game with an 11-3 run, Azusa Pacific settled in for a fast-paced opening half with Occidental keeping the margin within single digits until Austin Dyer converted a three-point play to kick off a 17-3 run that closed out the first half. Leaf was fouled on a buzzer-beating three-point attempt, and he knocked down all three free throws to send the Cougars into halftime with a 55-36 advantage.
Less than four minutes into the second half, the lead had grown to 27 points (67-40) thanks to a 12-2 run, and Azusa Pacific took its largest lead of the game on a Will Ward dunk that extended the margin to 35 points, 91-56, with 8:10 remaining. With under a minute to play, English found himself behind the defense on a fast break, and he provided the highlight of the evening with a thunderous high-flying dunk over an Occidental defender.
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 2-1 on the season, while Occidental drops to 1-1. The Cougars have won 13 straight against Occidental and now lead the all-time series, 18-6.
