AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific snapped a three-game losing streak in emphatic fashion, leading by as many as 30 points in the second half of a 78-71 win over Academy of Art Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore guard Will Ferris scored a season-high 20 points off the bench to lead a group of five Cougars in double figures, and a standout defensive effort was also led by another player off the bench as true freshman Selom Mawugbe registered four blocks. Mawugbe also pulled down seven rebounds in just 15 minutes of action to help lead the Cougars to a 49-39 rebounding edge.

"I'm happy for Will that he got to see the ball go in the hole, because he's been working very hard and making strides," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "When a team packs it in defensively like Academy of Art did today, they allowed him some early looks that gave him some confidence, and he carried that throughout the game."

With the win, Azusa Pacific improved to 9-10 overall and 4-5 in PacWest play, while Academy of Art fell to 4-9 overall and 3-4 in the PacWest. The Cougars have another short turnaround as they wrap up a set of three games in five days when they host Point Loma on Monday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m.

Azusa Pacific answered an early 10-8 deficit with an 18-2 run over a 10-minute stretch, holding Academy of Art scoreless for over seven minutes on 11 consecutive missed shots during the run. A pair of Ferris free throws with 1:56 left in the half capped the outburst and gave the Cougars a 26-12 lead, and with a 30-17 halftime lead, Azusa Pacific registered its best defensive scoring effort in a half this season.

"The difference today was how we came out and defended with a purpose," Leslie said. "To get a 30-point lead with nine minutes left showed that we did our work throughout the game at both ends of the floor to get there."

Joey Schreiber opened the second-half scoring with a three-pointer on the Cougars' first offensive possession, leading a 35-18 run in the first 11 minutes after halftime to give Azusa Pacific a commanding 65-35 edge as the clock ticked under nine minutes to play. The Cougars maintained a lead of at least 20 points until Herman Pratt knocked down a pair of free throws with 3:22 left. The Urban Knights scored 15 of their 71 points in the final three minutes, starting with a Kendall Brown trey with 2:56 left pulled Academy of Art within 15, 74-59.

"I was happy for how we were able to force Academy of Art to take and make tough shots today," Leslie said. "With three games in five days, the key for us was finding a way to stay fresh and keep rotating guys to try to limit their minutes, and it worked out just fine in the end."

Ferris scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half to lead all scorers, and he added a team-high three steals to contribute to the defensive effort. Petar Kutlesic tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds while going six-for-nine from the field for his fifth double-double of the year. Corey Langerveld scored six of Azusa Pacific's first eight points of the game and finished with 13, while Schreiber and Austin Dyer added 10 points each.

Academy of Art, which shot just 22 percent (6-for-27) from the field in the first half, including 0-for-8 on three-pointers, finished the game with four double-digit scorers. Uchenna Okeneme led the way with 15 points, four assists, and three steals for the Urban Knights.