AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific held its own with one of the most explosive offenses in the Pacific West Conference Monday night, but Chaminade caught fire from long range in the second half to hand the depleted Cougars an 83-71 defeat Monday night at the Felix Event Center.

With Petar Kutlesic leading the way with 15 of his 17 points in the first half, Azusa Pacific led by as many as seven points in the first half and went into halftime tied with the Silverswords. However, Chaminade hit nine-of-12 three-pointers in the second half, including four triples during an 18-6 run that turned a 50-47 lead into a 68-53 margin midway through the second half.

"We had moments of this game where we could have taken advantage of things that they were giving us, but when you get into tough conference games and make mistakes against good PacWest teams like Chaminade, they'll make you pay for them," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "For one stretch early in the second half it was miscues on the defensive end that allowed them to get some open threes, and then in the middle of the second half we had some horrible offensive possessions that led to a disadvantage at the defensive end. We lost focus and missed execution, and they capitalized on it."

Corey Langerveld tallied a career-high for the second straight game, scoring 21 points on seven-of-13 shooting, which included three-of-five makes beyond the three-point line. Kutlesic added 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season and his third in the past five games, leading the Cougars to a 46-37 rebounding edge. Connor Peterson finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, and he scored all 15 of his points in the final 10 minutes of the game.

Azusa Pacific drops to 10-13 overall and 5-8 in PacWest play, while Chaminade improves to 14-8 overall, 10-5 in the PacWest. The Cougars remain home for three of the next four games, hosting Hawai'i Hilo on Thursday, Feb. 2, Hawai'i Pacific on Monday, Feb. 6, and Concordia on Saturday, Feb. 11.

"We've consistently played a tough non-conference schedule to prepare us for these moments in conference play," Leslie said. "We had a lot of games that we had opportunities to win early in the year, and missing those opportunities has inhibited our ability to have the confidence, understanding, and know-how that we need at this stage of the season. Every game has teachable moments that we can continue to put our focus on. The standards of this program, and the effort and attitude required to have success, are constant. What our program is built on is not going to waver. We will keep staying the course and keep working hard to perform to the best of our abilities every day."

Kutlesic was the key to the Cougars' early offense, scoring the team's first five points before jump-starting a 16-6 run with six more points on a three-point play and subsequent three-pointer which erased an 18-15 deficit and gave Azusa Pacific a 31-24 lead with 5:12 left in the first half. However, Chaminade's Kuany Kuany scored on three straight possessions to help the Silverswords score 11 of the final 15 points of the half and send the game into halftime tied at 35-35.

Early in the second half, Kiran Shastri hit back-to-back treys that sparked a 13-2 Chaminade run, although Langerveld nailed two three-pointers to pull Azusa Pacific back within three, 50-47, with 15 minutes to play. However, in the next five minutes the only Cougar points came from three Langerveld free throws, and Dantley Walker capped the game-turning run with back-to-back threes which gave Chaminade a 15-point cushion with 8:49 to play. A pair of Peterson free throws with 4:28 left cut Chaminade's lead to nine points, 71-62, but the Silverswords reeled off eight points in a row to put the game out of reach in the closing minutes.

Austin Pope (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Kuany Kuany (15 points, 11 rebounds) each notched double-doubles for Chaminade, which was led in scoring by Shastri's 18 points on six-of-10 three-point shooting. Rohndell Goodwin added 17 points (four-of-five three-pointers) off the bench for the Silverswords, who hit nine-of-12 second-half three-pointers and shot 52 percent (16-for-31) from beyond the arc overall.