FRESNO, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific's winning formula was put to the test in its Pacific West Conference opener Saturday evening in Fresno, but the Cougars answered their first halftime deficit of the season with a big second half in an 89-80 road win over Fresno Pacific.

Senior guard Troy Leaf scored 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, helping erase the Sunbirds' three-point halftime margin, which was the first time this season Azusa Pacific trailed at halftime. Fresno Pacific also shot better overall and from three-point range than any Cougar opponent so far this year, but the Cougars won the rebounding battle for the eighth time in nine games and outscored the Sunbirds in bench scoring by a 38-1 margin.

While Leaf scored 23 and pulled down six rebounds, sophomore forward Will Ward added a 14 points on seven-of-10 shooting from the floor. All 10 Cougars who played scored at least two points, with eight of the 10 notching at least six points. Senior point guard Robert Sandoval led the balanced effort with a season-high 11 assists to go with his eight points and a game-high four steals.

"Robert's game showed why we had so many other guys contribute and have opportunities to score," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "He did a great job reading the game today, and that came after he almost had a triple-double in our last game. He is really starting to see the game and feel where his spots are. He knows our personnel, and part of being a good point guard is understanding that balance. Robert did all those things tonight that so often go unnoticed, but they were crucial in allowing us to get out of this game with a victory."

With the win, Azusa Pacific has won seven straight games, matching its longest winning streak since a 14-game streak during the 2010-11 season. The Cougars improved to 8-1 overall and 1-0 in PacWest play heading into next weekend's visit to Point Loma, which appeared in the latest NABC Division II Coaches Poll at No. 22.

Less than three minutes into the second half, Fresno Pacific had already turned its modest three-
point, 47-44 halftime edge into a margin of seven points, 48-41, until Leaf converted a three-point play during a 12-3 run that turned the momentum back to Azusa Pacific for good. The Cougars never trailed again, piling up a 21-10 edge on the boards after halftime to finish ahead of the Sunbirds in rebounding by a 33-27 margin.

"We were completely lost on the boards the first eight minutes of the game," Leslie said. "They missed five three-pointers and rebounded four of them in the first half. Those second chance points hurt us. Getting back to our success in rebounding is really what turned the game."

Later in the half, five different Cougars scored during a 14-3 run that went across a crucial four-minute, 30-second stretch, breaking a 66-66 tie with 8:43 to play to give Azusa Pacific its largest lead of the game, 80-69, with 4:09 left. The lead stayed between seven and 10 points down the stretch as the Cougars preserved their sixth win away from home this year, kicking off a set of five consecutive road games at the front end of the 20-game conference schedule.

"The conference schedule is a 20-game marathon," Leslie said. "We've spent a lot of time with the team developing consistency, and I believe it's going to take a consistent, mature approach to how we prepare and take care of ourselves to get through 20 games. The most important game is the next one, and starting with five games on the road just means that we're going to play a lot of home games down the stretch."

After next week's visit to Point Loma, Azusa Pacific visits three of the PacWest's Bay Area programs in a three-game, five-day stretch from Dec. 16 and Dec. 20.