AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific raced to a huge early lead in its home opener and never looked back, posting a 92-70 win over Colorado Christian in which seven players scored at least eight points and the Cougars' individual scoring leaders scored 13 points each.
Sharing the individual scoring lead for the Cougars were seniors Corey Langerveld and Petar Kutlesic, who each ended up with a team-high 13 points. Azusa Pacific doubled its 15-point halftime lead to 30 points four times in the final 11 minutes of the game before landing at the final 22-point margin of victory.
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 3-0 on the season, while Colorado Christian falls to 0-3.
How It Happened: Azusa Pacific scored the first nine points of the game and raced to a 20-point lead (25-5) midway through the first half, and the Cougars led by at least 13 points the rest of the game. Every point Azusa Pacific scored inside the three-point line either came from the free throw line or on 24 made shots inside the paint to give the Cougars a 48-28 edge in points in the paint.
Early in the second half, Colorado Christian pulled within 13 points, but Will Ferris answered with a three-pointer which sparked a 9-0 run and pushed the Azusa Pacific lead beyond the 20-point mark. The Cougars led by at least 20 points for the final 17-plus minutes of the game.
Turning Point: Selom Mawugbe made his presence felt early in the game, scoring two baskets inside within the first four minutes to spark Azusa Pacific to a 9-0 lead. The Cougars never looked back, extending the lead to 25-5 just 11 minutes into the game when Kutlesic knocked in a tip-in from the right side of the lane. That was enough to give Azusa Pacific its first 20-point lead of the game.
Azusa Pacific Standouts: Kutlesic and Langerveld led a balanced scoring effort with 13 points each, and Tyson Kanseyo contributed 12 points and 6 rebounds off the bench for the Cougars. Kutlesic added a team-high 5 assists to go with 5 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 steals. Four others finished with 8 points, including Mawugbe, who tallied a game-high 4 blocked shots, as well.
Colorado Christian Standouts: Marcus Fager came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and he also notched a game-high 7 rebounds. Two others reached double figures, with Stefan Hackethal scoring 13 points while Jeremiah Hanson added 12.
By The Numbers: Azusa Pacific shot a season-high 59 percent (33-for-56), outscoring CCU in the paint by a 48-28 margin and posting a 28-15 edge in points off turnovers… All 14 Cougars in uniform played at least three minutes in the victory… The Cougars won the rebounding battle for the first time this season, edging CCU by a 34-33 margin… Azusa Pacific forced 21 turnovers and registered 15 steals.
What's Next: Azusa Pacific takes on Western Oregon and Eastern New Mexico at the WOU/Doubletree by Hilton D2 Shootout in Monmouth, Oregon. The Cougars take on the tournament host Western Oregon Friday night at 5:30 p.m. and face a quick turnaround with a 12:30 p.m. Saturday matchup against Eastern New Mexico.
Quotable: "We had two tough games last weekend that didn't allow us to go as deep into our bench as I'd like to this time of the year. I was pleased with the opportunity to get some other guys some looks heading into a couple more tough games this weekend. Our balance and effort made this a fun night for us."
"Our recipe is pretty simple with what we're trying to accomplish. The team's starting to understand what it looks like on a day-to-day basis, and I think we saw a little more of that today. We didn't feel like we shot the ball all that well, but we stuck to our script and it worked. They're starting to understand how the process works, and that's an exciting thing to see as a coach." -- Head Coach Justin Leslie
"The mindset was to set the tone for how we want to play at home this year. What's unique about our team is that our default setting is very energetic and active. Our offense is built on movement, so a game like this when we have so much balance is exactly what we want." -- Corey Langerveld
"It's especially important for us to be balanced early in the year to get everyone involved. Corey and I are getting a lot of attention, but that just means it only takes a simple pass to find somebody with an open shot. Every game, we seem to find something that works, and what I like about this team is that everybody is involved. Everyone is working for each other and making good adjustments. Our zone has been really efficient, and we've been able to start games pretty fast. We have so many weapons, but we have so much potential to continue to grow, and that's really exciting to see how much potential we have." -- Petar Kutlesic
