MONMOUTH, Ore. -- Senior guard Troy Leaf scored a career-high 33 points to lead Azusa Pacific to an 81-74 road win over Western Oregon, but the Cougars needed all of his scoring along with the unsung extra efforts from others to seal the crucial road win Friday night.
One of those key moments was an offensive rebound from senior forward Andy Jones, who turned a pair of missed free throws into an extra possession by tipping the second missed shot back to Leaf outside the three-point line as the Cougars protected a three-point lead with just 20 seconds to play. Leaf was fouled again, and he cashed in on the bonus opportunity to make it a two-possession game at 79-74, and he rebounded the ensuing Western Oregon long-range miss and converted two more free throws for the final seven-point margin.
Leaf scored Azusa Pacific's final nine points in the final 75 seconds, and he finished a perfect eight-for-eight at the free throw line while going 10-for-15 from the field with five three-pointers. His first 30-point game of the 2014-15 season was the fifth of his career. Jones finished with three rebounds, none larger than his effort on the offensive glass with the game in the balance, and four others finished with at least five rebounds as the Cougars controlled the boards by a 45-35 margin.
Azusa Pacific's bench contributed 29 points, led by 11-point performances from junior guard Bruce English and sophomore forward Will Ward. True freshman Petar Kutlesic pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds, also off the bench, while starting senior point guard Robert Sandoval added eight points and a game-high five assists.
The Cougars trailed only once, a one-point Western Oregon lead at 55-54 midway through the second half, but the deficit only lasted for 11 seconds after Leaf erased it with a short jumper in transition. With just under eight minutes remaining, the Wolves tied the game at 61-61 on a Lewis Thomas three-pointer, but Kutlesic knocked down two free throws as Azusa Pacific scored five in a row to maintain the lead at 66-61 with 5:59 to play.
Over the final five minutes, the Cougars led by as many as six, the last time at 70-64 with 4:09 to play before Western Oregon chipped the lead back down to a point, 72-71, with 1:44 left. Leaf answered with a jumper at the top of the key with 1:10 remaining, and he drilled a three-pointer on the next possession for a 77-72 lead with 30 seconds left. Western Oregon pulled back within three when Andy Avgi scored the last of his team-high 18 points to cut the lead to three, but Jones rebounded the ensuing free throw miss to help Azusa Pacific put the game away with Leaf at the free throw line.
Ward scored six points in an early 9-0 run that gave the Cougars their first double-digit lead of the game, 22-11. After the Wolves tied the game at 24-24 with 8:31 left in the first half, Leaf nailed a three-pointer to ignite a 19-3 run that gave Azusa Pacific its largest lead of the game, 43-27. The Cougars took a 46-35 lead into halftime, and Leaf led all scorers with 18 points in the opening half.
Azusa Pacific improves to 3-1 on the season with the win, giving it another important victory over a Division II West Region foe. Western Oregon falls to 1-2 overall. The Cougars return to action Saturday evening in Monmouth, taking on another Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent in St. Martin's (Wash.).
