ORANGE, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific was off the mark in its 2016-17 men's basketball season opener, missing its first seven shots and falling behind early without ever taking the lead in an 86-72 defeat to West Texas A&M Friday morning at the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2 CCA) Tip Off Classic at Santiago Canyon College.

The Cougars gave up the first eight points of the game but seemingly recovered from the nervous start in a matter of just 80 seconds, when Joey Schreiber nailed back-to-back three-pointers after true freshman Selom Mawugbe scored Azusa Pacific's first points of the season on a jumper from the top of the key.

That pulled the teams even at 8-8 with 14:11 left in the first half, and Will Ferris answered a Ryan Quaid three-pointer with his own trey to tie the game at 11-11 with 12:49 left in the half. From there, West Texas A&M reeled off nine straight and eventually extended the first-half lead as wide as 12 points on two separate occasions.

"I give West Texas a lot of credit; they're a veteran group and they played like it," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "This was a game that will make us better. You always have things you need to improve on, and we were exposed in some areas. They challenged our toughness and our execution, but at the end of the day these games are a measuring stick to help us know what we need to work on to get better. I'm pleased with the level of competition and what that does for us moving forward."

Schreiber scored 11 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, keeping Azusa Pacific within striking distance even though the Cougars shot just 32 percent (10-for-31) from the field in the opening frame. Schreiber added another 14 points after halftime, finishing six-of-12 on three-pointers.

"Joey had a good game and did a nice job of letting the game develop for him," Leslie said. "This is a different role for a lot of these guys who need to step up and carry a little bigger load for us."

Ferris added 12 points in 29 minutes of action off the bench, and Connor Peterson contributed 14 points, five rebounds, and five assists while Petar Kutlesic scored 13 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Although Azusa Pacific cut the deficit in half by scoring the final six points of the first half to pull within 32-26 at the break, the Buffs struck first in the second half to push the lead back into double digits. However, Schreiber found his range again from long distance with another pair of threes in a 10-0 run that pulled the Cougars within a point at 45-44 with 14:23 left in the game.

Carl White and Joseph Prince answered with consecutive treys to give the Buffs some cushion, and after Schreiber hit another three-pointer midway through the second half to keep Azusa Pacific within five, 60-55, West Texas A&M scored eight of the next 10 points and led by at least eight points the rest of the way.

With the loss, Azusa Pacific drops to 0-1 on the season, but the Cougars are back in action for two more games this weekend, taking on Texas A&M International Saturday night before meeting MSU Denver Sunday afternoon to wrap up the opening weekend's action.

"I absolutely hope we come out with a new sense of focus and purpose on the details that make us good," Leslie said. "We're not a team that's going to go run-and-gun with everybody; we need to have great spacing on offense, and on the defensive end we have to execute even better. We gave up 54 points in the second half, and I think improving that is going to come down to a little bit of toughness, grit, and resilience that we need to develop on the defensive side."

The Buffs had five players score in double figures, led by Jordan Evans' team-high 20 points. David Chavolvivh added 16 points, five rebounds, and six assists, and Ryan Quaid put together a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench for West Texas A&M.

WHAT'S NEXT: Azusa Pacific takes on Texas A&M International on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 8:30 p.m. at Santiago Canyon College in Orange. The tournament concludes with a 1:30 pm matchup on Sunday, Nov. 6, against MSU Denver.