IRVINE, Calif. -- The hallmarks of Azusa Pacific's Pacific West Conference regular-championship season were defense and depth, and California Baptist neutralized both as the Lancers raced to an 18-point halftime lead and handed the No. 11-ranked Cougars a 78-67 defeat in the Pacific West Conference Tournament semifinals Friday evening.

PacWest Player of the Year Troy Leaf led all scorers with 26 points, but he was Azusa Pacific's only double-digit scorer as the Cougars were held to a season first-half 29 points before mounting a frenetic second-half comeback. Defensively, Azusa Pacific gave up 47 points in the first half, just one point shy of the most they've surrendered in the opening half all year, allowing the Lancers to shoot 63 percent (17-for-27) from the field with five three-pointers.

As dismal as the first half went for the Cougars, it took less than four minutes after halftime to slash the lead down to seven, as senior guard Kevin Stafford drained a trio of three-pointers to spark a 14-3 run to start the second half. A Gelaun Wheelwright three provided a brief respite, helping push the lead back into double figures after a pair of Ryan Berg free throws gave CBU a 58-47 lead with 13:33 remaining.

That set up another four-minute burst, this time a 10-0 Cougar run that made it a one-point game at 58-57 with 8:39 to play. During the run, California Baptist missed six consecutive shots and a pair of free throws, but Berg got to the basket for a layup that snapped CBU's scoring drought before Leaf answered with a pull-up jumper at the other end to keep it a one-point game heading into the final eight minutes.

California Baptist got its next seven points at the free throw line, and Michael Smith's putback of a missed Berg three pushed the lead to 69-62 with 3:31 left. Sophomore forward Will Ward's layup 2:40 left pulled the Cougars within five, but that was the closest it would get as CBU hit nine-of-10 free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win and advance to the PacWest Tournament championship game Saturday.

Stafford accounted for half of Azusa Pacific's three-pointers in the game, finishing as the team's second-leading scorer behind Leaf with nine points. Ward and PacWest Freshman of the Year Petar Kutlesic combined for 15 rebounds, collecting 11 of them in the second half, and senior All-PacWest second team point guard Robert Sandoval added seven points and a game-high three steals despite picking up a first-half technical foul that limited his minutes.

Wheelwright led California Baptist with 20 points, while Berg added 19 points and Taj Spencer posted a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double. All three were in double figures in scoring in the first half alone, with Spencer and Berg scoring 11 each and Wheelwright 10 in the opening half.

With the loss, Azusa Pacific takes a 24-5 overall record into next week's eight-team NCAA Division West Region tournament. The Cougars have been ranked No. 1 in all three of the NCAA's West Region rankings, and the final eight-team regional tournament and location will be announced by the NCAA on its Division II Tournament selection show, which can be viewed at ncaa.com/live at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m.