SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- For the second straight year, Azusa Pacific's Pacific West Conference visit to Dominican came down to the final shot, but the No. 22-ranked Cougars reversed last year's result with a 74-71 victory over the host Penguins, whose desperation three as time expired was off the mark.
It was a reversal of fortunes from last year's visit to the Conlan Center, when Dominican rallied from eight points down in the final 2:30 to force overtime before hitting a buzzer-beating jumper as the extra time expired last December. This time, Azusa Pacific's swarming defense in the closing seconds prevented the Penguins from getting a quality look at a potential game-tying three-pointer, forcing Josh Ramirez to heave a desperation three from the corner well off the mark as time ran out.
Senior guard Troy Leaf led the way for the Cougars, heating up in the second half to score 21 of his game-high 28 points after halftime and post his second consecutive 28-point performance. He hit back-to-back three-pointers that helped spark a 16-4 run midway through the second half, which turned a tight 48-45 margin into the game's biggest lead, a 15-point advantage at 64-49 with 5:48 remaining.
"The biggest difference between the game last year and this year was that we didn't get rattled tonight," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "That run was the whole game for us, because we weren't getting separation prior to that and they cut the lead back down after it. We knew Dominican had a run coming for us, because they competed really hard against us all night and made this a tough conference road game to win."
The victory extends Azusa Pacific's winning streak to nine games as the Cougars improve to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the PacWest. Azusa Pacific is one of just three teams who remain unbeaten in conference play. Dominican falls to 5-5 overall and 2-1 in PacWest play.
Sophomore forward Will Ward added 11 points and a team-high five rebounds off the bench for Azusa Pacific, and senior point guard Robert Sandoval contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and two steals. The Cougars forced Dominican into 18 turnovers, the second-highest by an opponent this season, although the Penguins became just the second team this year to beat Azusa Pacific on the boards by posting a 34-31 rebounding edge.
The Cougars led by as many as six points in the opening half before heading into halftime with a 35-31 edge. Early in the first half, junior forward Jared Zoller and junior guard Bruce English connected on back-to-back three-pointers to cap an 8-0 run and deliver Azusa Pacific a lead it held for all but one possession over the final 15 minutes of the half.
Just over five minutes into the second half, the lead expanded to eight points before Dominican scored on consecutive possessions to trim the margin to 48-45 with 13:43 to play. Ward's answer, a jump hook in the lane from a strong post move, set off a 16-4 blitz over the next eight minutes. Leaf scored eight of Azusa Pacific's points during the run, and the Cougars protected the double-digit margin all the way up to the two-minute mark of the game when Karl Ohrner's three-point play off a Christopher Schwartz-Edmisten steal cut the lead to 67-60.
"Holding a team to four points over eight minutes on their own floor is how you win on the road, and it's what we need to continue to hang our hat on," Leslie said. "We got some great looks early and just didn't hit them, and that rattled us a little bit, but we got back into our game by defending well and making just enough shots to get some separation. It was really encouraging to close this one out down the stretch."
Unlike last year's defeat, when Azusa Pacific missed six-of-seven free throws during Dominican's comeback down the stretch, the Cougars cashed in five-of-seven in the final minute to keep the game just out of reach even though the Penguins finished the game on an 18-7 run.
Dominican was led by a 16-point, nine-rebound, four-assist effort from Dominique Taplin. Ramirez, who attempted the potential game-tying three-pointer from the corner, finished with 14 points while Ohrner collected 11 points in 25 minutes of action before fouling out.
Azusa Pacific's five-game road trip to start the 20-game PacWest schedule continues with a Thursday, Dec. 18, visit to Notre Dame de Namur, which is the Cougars' second of three games over five days in the Bay Area this week.
