EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- A three-year journey encapsulating Azusa Pacific's transition to active NCAA Division II membership culminated in a trip to the Elite Eight, but the Cougars' storybook run ended with a 69-65 defeat to Indiana University of Pennsylvania at the Ford Center in Evansville.
It was IUP which also ended Azusa Pacific's first-ever national tournament appearance as an NAIA program in 1974, and 41 years later the Crimson Hawks took advantage of the Cougars' lowest overall and three-point shooting percentages of the season to end Azusa Pacific's first NCAA Division II Tournament bid. The Cougars were the second team since Division II's current Elite Eight format was introduced in 1989 to advance to this round in its very first season of NCAA postseason eligibility.
Given Azusa Pacific's shooting woes Wednesday afternoon, the end result was not surprising, but the way the Cougars clawed back for a chance to win a game when it wasn't playing at its best was the perfect representation of how truly special the 2014-15 season was.
Although Indiana kept senior All-American guard Troy Leaf from scoring his first point until less than four minutes were left in the first half, Leaf passed out four first-half assists which helped Azusa Pacific to a 33-31 halftime lead. He also coaxed a three-pointer through the net after bouncing off the front rim as time expired in the first half, finishing off a 12-4 run over the final six minutes of the opening half.
There were four ties and nine lead changes in the first half alone, with five more lead changes and three ties yet to come after halftime. One of those momentum swings was a 14-5 IUP run which erased a two-point Cougar lead and gave the Crimson Hawks their largest lead of the game, a 47-40 edge as the clock ticked under 10 minutes left to play. From there, Leaf and senior point guard Robert Sandoval combined for the next eight points for a 48-47 lead with 7:11 to play.
The teams traded baskets one more time, giving Azusa Pacific a one-point edge, 50-49, with 6:30 left. However, the Cougars never led again despite staying within four points of IUP the rest of the way. After briefly surrendering the lead on consecutive possessions, Indiana scored on 11 of its next 12 possessions, preventing Azusa Pacific from producing a game-changing run. Leaf cut the lead to one on three straight possessions, but IUP answered all three and extended the lead to four points on four separate occasions in the last three minutes.
A Shawn Dyer three made it 66-62 with under 30 seconds left, and the Cougars' fate was seemingly sealed on a missed three-pointer at the 18-second mark. However, after a quick foul the Crimson Hawks missed both free throws, and Leaf drilled a long three-pointer with 11 seconds to trim the deficit to 66-65 and keep Azusa Pacific alive. After Devante Chance knocked down two free throws to push the lead to 68-65, Leaf got another three-point attempt into the air with just a few seconds left, but it was off the mark and IUP rebounded the miss and made one-of-two free throws to seal the victory with two seconds left.
Leaf scored 22 of his game-high 29 points after halftime, but Azusa Pacific shot just 26 percent (eight-for-31) overall and 13 percent (two-for-16) on three-pointers in the second half. Other than Leaf's effort, and a 13-8 edge in points off turnovers, Azusa Pacific didn't have much else in its favor. Indiana out-rebounded the Cougars by 10 (38-28), and the Crimson Hawks featured five players who scored in double figures. IUP also ended up with a plus-10 rebounding margin, collecting 38 boards to Azusa Pacific's 28.
Despite Leaf's slow start, he still scored seven points and was Azusa Pacific's leading first-half scorer. Sophomore forward Will Ward joined Leaf in double figures with 10 points, and Sandoval added nine points and five rebounds for the Cougars. Leaf ended the game with team-highs of five assists and three steals as all five starters for Azusa Pacific wrapped up their careers.
Chance was Indiana's leading scorer, finishing with 17 points, and he was joined in double figures by Brandon Norfleet and Jeremy Jeffers (13 points each). Shawn Dyer scored 12 points, and Daddy Ugbede came off the bench for 10 points and seven rebounds.
Azusa Pacific finishes the season, its first season of Division II postseason eligibility, with a 27-6 overall mark, a share of the Pacific West Conference regular-season championship, and an Elite Eight appearance after claiming the NCAA West Region Championship.
