AZUSA, Calif. -- Revenge is a powerful motivator, but No. 18-ranked Azusa Pacific's 84-68 win over No. 17-ranked California Baptist provided more than just the last word in the Pacific West Conference's best hoops rivalry.
Saturday's win represented validation. It was validation for sacrificing the comforts of home for 13 of the first 15 games of the season, which was by far the most challenging schedule of any team in Division II's West Region this year, and it was validation for a willingness to trade temporary growing pains and setbacks for the opportunity to take a team loaded with battle-tested experience into the program's first season of Division II postseason eligibility.
Just like the Cougars' first two chances to avenge earlier road defeats this season, Azusa Pacific made its most significant statement in front of the Felix Event Center faithful, treating a full house of 3,151 to a complete reversal from the matchup played two weeks ago in Riverside. Two weeks ago, the Lancers seemingly couldn't miss from three-point range, shooting 57 percent (12-for-21) from beyond the arc, but CBU never got comfortable in the rematch, hitting just six-of-25 (24 percent) from long range.
"I thought we let ourselves down and gave them too many opportunities to make plays the last time we played them," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "Tonight, we were intentional about executing our game plan, eliminating their first looks, and making them get to their second and third options, which significantly lowers their percentages. This team has been great in making adjustments the second time we play teams. They're smart players, and they paid attention to the adjustments we worked on in practice, and you can see the results on the floor."
Senior guard Troy Leaf scored a game-high 29 points to lead all scorers, and he moved into Azusa Pacific's top-10 in career scoring by climbing three spots to eighth all-time with 1,573 career points. He was joined by three other Cougars in double figures, with sophomore forward Will Ward hitting six-of-eight shots in a 13-point effort off the bench while seniors Christian Katuala and Robert Sandoval added 10 points each.
"Christian and Will combining for 23 points was huge, because you have to get points in the point against Cal Baptist," Leslie said. "They pressure you so much on the perimeter that you just have to slow down enough to let it get into the paint. Troy is a special player, and Robert is a great point guard, but this is just a great team. We have guys who care and understand, and they'll lay it all on the line for this group."
The victory gives Azusa Pacific a chance to clinch a share of the PacWest regular season title next week against Fresno Pacific in the final home game for the team's five seniors. The Cougars are now 23-4 overall and 16-3 in the PacWest and remain tied atop the PacWest standings with Dixie State, while California Baptist drops to 20-5 overall and 14-4 in the PacWest.
"It's always an intense game with CBU, but when you add 3,000-plus people it makes it that much more fun," Leaf said. "We have the greatest home court advantage in the PacWest, and possibly in Division II, and we're looking forward to finishing it off back here next Saturday."
The Lancers led by as many as seven points early in the game, but Azusa Pacific needed just over five minutes to take the lead for good, moving ahead on a Petar Kutlesic layup which helped spark a 19-4 run over nine-plus minutes in the first half. Leaf finished the half with a short jumper that sent the Cougars into halftime with a 38-27 edge, and he drilled a three-pointer to start the second half to extend the lead to 41-27.
"We knew we beat ourselves when we played CBU at their place," Leaf said. "We didn't make them beat us, so we knew that in our gym with our fans, if we played our game and didn't beat ourselves, we would have a great shot to win this game."
The closest Azusa Pacific let CBU get after halftime was a nine-point margin twice in the first four minutes of the second half and again near the midway point of the second half when Taj Spencer scored two of his nine points to cut the Cougars' lead to 53-44 with 10:25 remaining. Junior forward Jared Zoller tipped in a Katuala miss, and junior guard LyDell Cardwell drained a three-pointer to spark a 17-6 run which included back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Kevin Stafford, who extended the lead to 66-49 with 7:40 to play.
"My favorite part of the atmosphere was anytime they made runs at us, our crowd wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of coming in here and having anything on us," Leslie said. "This is a special place to play, and this team has worked very hard to get to this point; to have it validated with the support we have is exciting."
The closest California Baptist got in the final seven minutes of the game was 16 points, and a Ward dunk gave Azusa Pacific its largest lead, 79-55, with 2:45 left. In all, the Cougars led by double figures for all but 1:38 of the second half. CBU's leading scorer was Gelaun Wheelwright, who finished with 21 points, while Michael Smith added 10 points for the Lancers.
