IRVINE, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific's inconsistent opening month continued into the second month, as the Cougars fell behind Concordia by double digits in the opening half and dropped the Pacific West Conference opener by an 85-68 margin Thursday night in Irvine.

Concordia was nearly perfect from outside to start the game, hitting its first six three-point attempts of the game and shooting 71 percent (22-for-31) from the field in the first half to take a 57-34 halftime lead. Case Bruton scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half, and Justin Davis scored 13 of his game-high 22 points before halftime.

Azusa Pacific opened the second half with a 13-3 run to pull within 13 points, 60-47, although Concordia responded with 12 straight points to take its largest lead of the game, 72-47, midway through the second half. The Cougars rallied again with 11 points in a row, slashing the margin over the next five minutes down to 72-58 with 5:06 to play. Azusa Pacific never got closer, as the Eagles maintained at least a 15-point advantage over the final 4:47 of the game.

Petar Kutlesic notched team-highs of 14 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, leading a group of four Cougars in double figures. Austin Dyer added 13 points, while Joey Schreiber hit three-of-four three-pointers to tally 11 points along with a 10-point effort from Will Ferris.

Concordia also had four double-digit scorers, with Mike Mellinger and Brian Chambers adding 11 points each to go with the 42 combined points from Bruton and Davis. The Eagles forced Azusa Pacific into 18 turnovers, converting the Cougar giveaways into a 23-9 edge in points off turnovers.

The defeat dropped Azusa Pacific to 4-6 overall and 0-1 in the PacWest heading into a Saturday visit to No. 5-ranked, unbeaten California Baptist.