ORANGE, Calif. -- Another slow start, its second in three days, cost Azusa Pacific again, as the Cougars were held scoreless in the first five minutes of an 83-63 loss to MSU Denver in the final game of the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2 CCA) Tip Off Classic at Santiago Canyon College.
MSU Denver raced out to an 11-0 lead, and the Roadrunners never let up, leading by 17 at halftime (43-26) before cruising to the 20-point victory. The Cougars used a 13-4 run early in the second half to pull within 10 points, 49-39, with 15:19 left in the game, but MSU Denver responded just as quickly by scoring 18 of the next 22 points in the next five-minute stretch to extend the lead beyond 20 points.
"We were tentative right off the bat on the defensive side, and when a couple of good looks didn't go in for us early, we buckled," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "MSU Denver is a good team that had a bad game last night, and they were hungry today. They stuck to their identity, driving and attacking the basket and not settling for jump shots. We didn't respond at that juncture of the game, and we tried to dig out of that hole the rest of the way."
Led by Cameron Williams, who posted game-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds, MSU Denver dominated the game inside, out-rebounding Azusa Pacific by a 48-29 margin while producing a 46-22 edge in points in the paint. Williams had 14 points and 7 rebounds in the first half alone, as the Roadrunners had a first-half rebounding margin of 26-11 over the Cougars.
All five Azusa Pacific starters shot below 50 percent from the field, and only two Cougars reached double figures in scoring as Petar Kutlesic scored 12 points while Corey Langerveld added 11 points and a team-high 6 rebounds.
"We have a skilled group of players who have an opportunity to be really fun on the offensive side, but if we don't really get committed to guarding and playing good defense, we're going to expose ourselves when we play top quality competition," Leslie said. "We have to get better defensively and on the glass, and it's time to realize that roles have changed. Some of the younger guys have to step up and become veterans, and there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that. They have to love and trust in this process and be willing to invest in every little thing they do to grow and learn and help us get going in the right direction."
Azusa Pacific wraps up the opening weekend with a 1-2 overall record.
WHAT'S NEXT: Azusa Pacific continues the West Region's most challenging non-conference schedule with two games in San Diego next weekend (Nov. 11-12) against California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) powers Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego.
