BELMONT, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific led comfortably for most of Thursday's 63-58 win over Notre Dame de Namur, but the Cougars survived a late rally from the Argonauts to preserve its razor-thin edge for a spot in next week's Pacific West Conference Tournament.

Notre Dame de Namur rallied from 13 points down with 5:44 remaining in the game, using a 14-4 run to pull within one possession and cut Azusa Pacific's lead to three points, 61-58, with 22 seconds to play. Petar Kutlesic made a pair of clutch free throws with 14 seconds to play, and NDNU's final three-point attempt was off the mark as the Cougars ran out the clock to preserve the win.

Corey Langerveld scored a game-high 17 points, including 15 points in the first half as Azusa Pacific took a 39-25 halftime edge. Connor Peterson added 14 points, seven assists, and three steals, and Kutlesic finished with eight points along with a game-high eight rebounds.

With the win, the Cougars improve to 15-14 overall and 10-9 in PacWest play heading into Saturday's visit to Academy of Art to wrap up the regular season. Azusa Pacific heads into the season finale just one game ahead of Dominican, which also won Thursday night and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Cougars should the teams finish in a two-team tie for sixth. Azusa Pacific can clinch the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament with a victory Saturday.

"There's no reason to beat around the bush leading into this game with the team; our season is on the line and this was a must win," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "The team responded well, going into a tough place to play while executing and playing hard. This game required us to stick together and do the things we've practiced and worked on, and it was a step in the right direction tonight to earn this win together."

After jumping out to an 8-0 lead with a Peterson layup followed by three-pointers from Joey Schreiber and Langerveld, Azusa Pacific briefly gave up the lead after NDNU reeled off a 13-2 run. The Cougars got the lead right back with a 7-0 run, starting a 27-8 run which finished with 14 consecutive points capped by back-to-back fast break points on a Peterson dunk and Justin Byrd layup that gave Azusa Pacific a 37-21 lead with 4:57 left in the first half.

"We really defended well tonight, forcing turnovers and tough shots," Leslie said. "By the time NDNU found its rhythm, we had taken control of the game and established ourselves on the defensive end. Our defense led to good offense, which was important because that is a tough team to score on in the halfcourt."

Azusa Pacific hit just 4-of-19 (21 percent) three-pointers but still shot nearly 50 percent overall, making 21-of-33 (64 percent) on two-point attempts while sinking 9-of-11 free throws (82 percent) in the victory.

Notre Dame de Namur was almost as cold, hitting only five three-pointers on 18 tries (28 percent), although the Argonauts also struggled inside the three-point arc, finishing the game shooting just 36 percent (21-for-58) overall. Freshman Selom Mawugbe played a part in NDNU's shooting woes, as the true freshman finished with five blocks and three steals to lead the Cougar defense. Brian Ying led NDNU scorers with 15 points along with seven rebounds, while Korey Serna tallied 14 points and eight rebounds for the Argonauts.

"We've done a much better job recently playing to our strengths on offense and taking away the strengths of our opponents," Leslie said. "The other factor on the defensive end is how much Selom's physical presence has given us a boost. His emergence has allowed us to have that physical presence on the defensive side of the ball to change the game. You are going to have stretches where you go cold for a little bit offensively, so it's nice to know you have a guy who can go in there and make life difficult on your opponent at the other end of the floor."

Langerveld's 15 first-half points led his team to a 39-25 halftime advantage, and the Cougars committed only three turnovers while forcing NDNU into 10 turnovers in the opening half. Azusa Pacific maintained at least a nine-point margin until the final five minutes, as the Argonauts used a 16-4 run to slash a 15-point gap to just three points in the final minute of the game.