MONMOUTH, Ore. -- Senior guard Troy Leaf scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half to help Azusa Pacific take control early in an 86-69 win over St. Martin's (Wash.) Saturday night at the Western Oregon/Doubletree by Hilton D2 Shootout.
The Cougars trailed only once, for a stretch lasting less than two minutes early in the first half, and Leaf helped erase the deficit with back-to-back three-pointers at the front of a 21-7 run that gave his team a double-digit margin, 30-20, with 10:39 left in the first half. Azusa Pacific led by 13 at halftime, 44-31, and led by at least 11 points the rest of the way, expanding the lead as wide as 20 points (72-52) with 6:45 remaining.
"This is a veteran group that did a great job keeping control of this game," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "At the same time, we were able to get a lot of the young guys some minutes, which will be important to bringing them along in their development. We have a tough stretch coming up, and we need everyone to be prepared to help us win."
Leaf has now scored 20 points in each of the first five games of the season, and he added six assists without a turnover. Senior guard Kevin Stafford knocked down three three-pointers and finished with a season-high 17 points, while sophomore forward Will Ward was five-of-seven from the field in a 14-point effort off the bench.
The Cougars shot 56 percent (29-for-52) from the field, including a 44 percent (10-for-23) clip from three-point range, and they went 18-for-21 from the free throw line. Senior point guard Robert Sandoval dished out a game-high seven assists and shared the team's rebounding high with freshman forward Petar Kutlesic with six boards each.
St. Martin's was led by Cameron Chatwin's 11-point, nine-rebound effort, and only one other Saints player reached double figures in scoring with 10 points off the bench from Ryan Rogers. The St. Martin's starters were outscored by their reserves, 36-33, and as a team the Saints were limited to 44 percent (29-for-66) shooting overall and 26 percent (6-for-23) from three-point range.
Leaf was named the tournament MVP, and Ward, who scored 11 points with six rebounds in Friday's win over Western Oregon and made 10-of-14 shots on the weekend, joined him on the all-tournament team.
"We scored really well this weekend, and although I wish we could have defended a little more consistently, at the end of the day we had different guys step up on different nights," Leslie said. "It speaks to the depth of the team that was had different guys step up to help us get the two wins we came here for. We have to continue to find ways to win, learn how to manage those tight situations, and to win on the road you have to rebound well and get stops in the halfcourt."
Azusa Pacific improves to 4-1 heading into next weekend's visit to Chico State to take on two more foes from the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Cougars, who beat defending CCAA champion Cal State San Bernardino and lost in overtime to 2014-15 preseason conference favorite Cal Poly Pomona, meet San Francisco State on Friday before taking on defending NCAA Division II West Region champion Chico State Saturday, Nov. 29.
