BELMONT, Calif. -- With the finish line of what is arguably the toughest pre-Christmas schedule in NCAA Division II's entire West region in sight, No. 22-ranked Azusa Pacific extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 70-67 road win over Notre Dame de Namur Thursday night.

The Cougars are certainly battle-tested like few others, playing 10 of its 12 games this year away from home, and that veteran experience proved useful in guarding the lead down the stretch despite a second-half shooting percent of .321 (9-for-28) and only eight second-half free throw attempts. Senior guards Troy Leaf and Robert Sandoval each went to the free throw line for one-and-one free throws with a one-point lead in the final 10 seconds, and each knocked down the pair to seal the victory.

Leaf scored 12 points to share the team scoring lead with junior forward Jared Zoller and senior forward Christian Katuala. Sandoval added 10 points along with game-highs of seven assists and two steals, and junior guard LyDell Cardwell added eight points as he and Zoller each hit two-of-three from three-point range. Leaf grabbed a game-high six rebounds to lead the Cougars to a 34-29 edge on the boards.

In a game it never trailed, Azusa Pacific broke open a two-point lead (21-19) with 7:30 left in the first half with a 22-9 run that took the Cougars into halftime with a 43-28 margin, which turned out to be its largest lead of the game. Six different players contributed scoring to the half-ending run, including back-to-back three-pointers from Cardwell and Zoller before Sandoval dropped in a layup in the closing seconds of the first half.

In the second half, the Cougars maintained a margin of at least seven points heading into the final four minutes of the game, and Katuala's layup with 4:19 to play pushed the lead to 10 points, 64-54. However, Jalen Young's three-pointer on the ensuing NDNU possession sparked a 7-0 run that trimmed the deficit to 64-61 with 1:52 to play. With the shot clock winding down, Sandoval pushed the lead back to five with a layup that made it 66-61 with 1:19 to play before an Andrew English putback with 55 seconds left cut Azusa Pacific's lead back to three, 66-63.

Notre Dame de Namur knocked down a pair of free throws twice in the final 10 seconds, but the first pair was answered by Leaf hitting both shots of a one-and-one before Sandoval repeated it with four seconds left. A three-point attempt as time expired was off the mark, resulting in a second straight three-point Bay Area road win for the Cougars, who improved to 11-1 overall and 4-0 in the Pacific West Conference while NDNU dropped to 2-8 overall and 1-3 in the PacWest.

Azusa Pacific's 11-1 start is the sixth-best record through 12 games in program history, and it's the only such start which the Cougars have only played two home games. The Cougars' current winning streak is the 21st streak of at least 10 wins in program history, and it's only the fourth time a streak of 10-plus wins has come on the heels of the first loss of the season.

The Cougars wrap up the three-game, five-day Bay Area road trip with a Saturday afternoon matchup against Academy of Art at 3 p.m. at Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco. It will be Azusa Pacific's 11th game away from home in 13 games this season, a stretch which finally ends after the calendar turns to 2015 with three straight games in the Felix Event Center.