AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific climbed back from a 15-point first-half deficit, turning Saturday's Cougar Classic finale into a fight to the finish before Jeremy Dennis knocked down a three-pointer to break a tie game in the final minute and lead Cal Poly Pomona to a 79-72 win over the Cougars Saturday night.

The 2015 version of the Cougar Classic represented the third consecutive season that Azusa Pacific and Cal Poly Pomona have squared off in the opening weekend of the season. Last year, the Broncos posted a three-point overtime win at home over the Cougars, although Azusa Pacific avenged that loss with a playoff victory in the West Region semifinals en route to the regional title and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance.

"I like playing Cal Poly Pomona because I know that playing other great programs will only make us better," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "I'm grateful that they're willing to help put this tournament together every year, because it's a great partnership that makes both programs better and these are just great games. They expose a lot of the little details we need to improve on, so we end up getting a lot of mileage out of it. A loss like this hurts right now, but in the long run, this type of game is good for us."

Azusa Pacific tied the game three times in the final five minutes and took a one-point lead, 67-66, on a Joey Schreiber three-pointer with 3:07 to play. With just over a minute to go, Bruce English knocked down another three-pointer, this one tying the game at 70-70, with an answer after Cal Poly Pomona had regained a three-point edge. That's when Dennis, who was nearly perfect in a 22-point performance, drilled his fourth three-pointer of the game to push the Broncos back in front by three with 42 seconds to play.

Dennis finished the game five-of-six from the field, including all four of his three-point attempts and eight-of-eight free throws, and Cal Poly Pomona was able to close out the victory by hitting all six of its free throw attempts in the final 30 seconds. Jordan Faison added game-highs of 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting and nine rebounds to lead the Broncos.

Senior forward Jared Zoller led Azusa Pacific in scoring for the second straight night, pouring in 17 points while Schreiber, English, and sophomore forward Austin Dyer all registered double figures with 10 points each.

Cal Poly Pomona used a 15-2 run over a five-minute first-half stretch to take a 23-11 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the first half. After Corey Langerveld converted three free throws to trim the margin to eight, the Broncos reeled off another 9-2 run to expand the lead to 15 points, 39-24, with 4:31 left in the opening half.

The Cougars answered with nine consecutive points before Dennis hit two free throws to send Cal Poly Pomona into halftime with a 41-33 lead. Azusa Pacific was 10-for-23 (44 percent) from the field and committed nine turnovers in the first half, and Cal Poly Pomona already had Dennis (15 points) and Faison (10 points) in double figures by halftime.

"We were not prepared defensively to have any type of energy in the first half, and we did not consistently execute and compete defensively," Leslie said. "Cal Poly Pomona played well and I give them credit. They made some tough shots and got themselves some momentum, and offensively we were timid and did not make good decisions. We battled back before halftime, so we showed some resiliency in that stretch."

After falling behind by 12 in the first three minutes of the second half, Azusa Pacific used a 13-2 run to whittle the double-digit margin down to a single-point deficit at 51-50 with 13 minutes left. The Broncos never led by more than six points the rest of the way until a pair of Faison free throws in the closing seconds gave Cal Poly Pomona its final seven-point winning margin.

With the loss, Azusa Pacific falls to 1-1 on the young season, while Cal Poly Pomona is now 2-0.

2015 COUGAR CLASSIC SCHEDULE & SCORES

Game 1 (Friday, Nov. 13): Cal Poly Pomona 84, Notre Dame de Namur 46
Game 2 (Friday, Nov. 13): Azusa Pacific 85, Cal State San Bernardino 65
Game 3 (Saturday, Nov. 14, 5:30 p.m.): Cal State San Bernardino 81, Notre Dame de Namur 56
Game 4 (Saturday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.): Cal Poly Pomona 79, Azusa Pacific 72