ST. GEORGE, Utah -- The first time Azusa Pacific met Dixie State this year, it rallied for an overtime win after overcoming a nine-point deficit with less than two minutes to play. In Saturday's rematch at Burns Arena in St. George, the Cougars were only two points down in the final two minutes but couldn't replicate the rally in a 67-62 defeat to the Red Storm, who have won eight of nine since their Dec. 10 defeat in the Felix Event Center.
The biggest lead of the game was an eight-point advantage, which was Dixie State's lead (60-52) after a pair of Trevor Hill free throws with 5:15 to play. Corey Langerveld scored the next five points to help Azusa Pacific pull within three, 60-57, before Brandon Simister gave the Red Storm a five-point cushion at 62-57 with 2:27 remaining.
After Connor Peterson knocked down two free throws with 2:08 to play, Joey Schreiber made one-of-two from the line to cut the lead to 62-60 with 1:29 remaining. However, Marcus Bradley and Zac Hunter scored on the next two Dixie State possessions, and the Cougars' three-point attempts to answer in the final minute were both off the mark. Hunter sank one-of-two free throws with 18 seconds remaining for a 67-60 lead before Peterson scored on a layup with 13 seconds left to finish the scoring. Hill missed two free throws with 10 seconds left, but the Cougars weren't able to capitalize on a late three-point attempt before time ran out.
Justin Byrd led Azusa Pacific scorers with 13 points, while Peterson added 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Petar Kutlesic posted his sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to go with 3 blocks, and Will Ferris contributed 10 points off the bench.
The defeat drops the Cougars a game below .500 at 10-11 overall and 5-6 in Pacific West Conference play, and Dixie State's eighth win in nine games puts the Red Storm at 13-5 overall, 10-2 PacWest. Azusa Pacific has five of its next six games at home, starting with a Saturday, Jan. 28, matchup with Dominican.
The first half alone featured six ties and seven lead changes, as the Cougars scored the first four points of the game and led again by that margin at 19-15 after Byrd knocked down two-of-three free throws midway through the opening half. Quincy Mathews answered with seven straight points to give Dixie State a 22-19 edge, and the Red Storm went into halftime guarding a 31-30 advantage.
The teams put together nearly identical team shooting percentages, finishing within two percent of each other in field goals, three-pointers, and free throws, but Dixie State grabbed 12 offensive rebounds which led to an 11-5 edge in second chance points. That turned out to be the difference in the game for the Red Storm, who only had two double-figure scorers in Simister (15 points) and Bradley (12 points).
