ORANGE, Calif. -- Five Azusa Pacific players scored in double figures in a 72-64 win over Texas A&M International in the Cougars' second game of the three-day Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2 CCA) Tip Off Classic at Santiago Canyon College.
Joey Schreiber knocked down a three-pointer and then turned his own steal into a fast break dunk finish to kick off a 7-0 run to start the game, and Azusa Pacific scored nine straight points late in the first half to take a 34-26 halftime lead. Another Schreiber trey capped a 12-2 run to open the second half, expanding the Cougar lead to a game-high 18 points at 46-28.
Although Texas A&M International fought all the way back to within a single point of the lead on four separate occasions, the Cougars scored 11 of the final 14 points to close out the game.
"We showed some flashes of some really good things on both sides of the ball, and now we just have to find a way to do those things consistently," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "I give Texas A&M International a lot of credit for playing hard and getting themselves back in the game. That was a great experience for us because we had to grind, get stops, and work for quality possessions on the offensive end. In the long run, all those things made us better."
Sophomore point guard Connor Peterson scored a game-high 16 points, hitting 9-of-11 free throws as Azusa Pacific shot 81 percent (26-for-32) as a team from the line. Junior Corey Langerveld added 13 points along with game-highs of nine rebounds and three steals. Petar Kutlesic added a 13-point, six-rebound effort, and Schreiber and Austin Dyer contributed 12 points each.
"We are a deep team with a good mix of veterans and young guys, and each of those guys has something they bring to the table that makes them difficult to guard," Leslie said. "We also have some guys on the bench who are ready to have a bigger role, and they will get those opportunities as the season unfolds. That puts a lot of pressure on a defense and gives us opportunities to exploit some mismatches. We didn't shoot particularly well today, but we made up for it by working hard to get to the foul line, and converting over 80 percent there was fantastic."
Texas A&M International was led by Jordan VanDeKop, who came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points in 30 minutes of action. Azusa Pacific took advantage of 18 Roadrunner turnovers, converting them into a 19-11 edge in points off turnovers.
With the win, Azusa Pacific evens its record at 1-1 on the season heading into Sunday's matchup with MSU Denver to wrap up the opening weekend's action.
WHAT'S NEXT: Azusa Pacific meets MSU Denver (formerly named Metro State) on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 1:30 p.m. at Santiago Canyon College in Orange. Next weekend, the Cougars take on a pair of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) powers with matchups against UC San Diego and Cal Poly Pomona in San Diego.
