AZUSA, Calif. -- Even though a treacherous upcoming schedule looms ahead, Azusa Pacific kept its focus on the present during a 110-70 blowout win over Bethesda Tuesday night at the Felix Event Center.
Led by a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double from Corey Langerveld, the Cougars featured five double-figure scorers and drilled 18 three-pointers to put together its highest scoring production in a game since Jan. 15, 2011 (111-81 over Hope International).
Senior forward Joey Schreiber nailed a three-pointer on the game's opening possession, and a minute later Petar Kutlesic knocked down another trey, giving Azusa Pacific an early six-point lead. The Cougars continued the three-point barrage throughout the game, hitting exactly 9-of-22 attempts from long range in each half to finish the game with 18 treys in 44 tries (.409), just two shy of the program's single-game three-point record (20).
Defensively, Azusa Pacific held Bethesda to 31 percent (22-of-71) shooting from the field, including a 9-for-36 (.250) clip from three-point range. The Cougars also forced 18 turnovers which led to a 28-17 edge in points off turnovers.
"We did a fantastic job of setting the tone by making their looks difficult early on, and that was a growth step for us," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "The other good thing to see on the defensive side of the ball was our commitment to team defense, which is a big part of our system. We haven't been great so far in that regard until tonight when we did a nice job as a group of stopping their drives and making their post touches difficult."
Azusa Pacific, now 3-4 on the season, returns to action to host Division II regional opponents Seattle Pacific and Cal State L.A. in this weekend's Cougar Classic, which also features Point Loma, and the Cougars' upcoming week will be two challenging Pacific West Conference road games against Concordia (Dec. 1) and California Baptist (Dec. 3).
"The next step for us is doing this against a better team," Leslie said. "Seattle Pacific is very skilled, and they're going to challenge us more by testing our discipline and our toughness in the details of the game. Cal State L.A. is also a very talented basketball team, and if we don't have great preparation on a short turnaround, we're going to be in for a world of hurt. Our schedule doesn't get easier, so we need to continue to improve and develop on a daily basis."
Langerveld sparked an 18-6 run with his first of four three-pointers in the game, turning an 11-10 edge into a double-digit lead, 24-11, with 10:38 remaining in the first half. The lead stayed in double figures until Langerveld finished off the half with another triple, sending the margin into the twenties for good as the Cougars took a 51-30 halftime lead.
Langerveld also gave Azusa Pacific its first 30-point lead when he drilled another trey and hit two free throws for a 62-32 lead with 16:53 remaining in the game, and the Cougars never led by fewer than 28 points the rest of the way.
Langerveld's points and rebounds both represented career-highs for the junior guard, who finished four-of-six on three-pointers, and redshirt freshman Ryan McConnell also notched a career-high with 14 points including four-of-seven from three-point range. Junior forward Austin Dyer hit six-of-seven from the field to finish with 14 points along with 8 rebounds, and Schreiber added 13 points with 8 boards.
Bethesda was led in scoring by Jarrell Tate, who tallied team-highs of 14 points and 5 assists. Boyd scored 13 points with 5 rebounds, and Alex Reynolds came off the bench for 12 points and a team-high 7 rebounds for the Flames, who fell to 4-8 on the season.
