SAN DIEGO -- Justin Byrd scored a career-high 16 points, including five straight to break a 54-54 tie with seven minutes left to lead Azusa Pacific to a 73-64 road win over Point Loma.
The victory secured a season sweep and pulls the Cougars within a game of the Sea Lions in the Pacific West Conference standings with four games left in the regular season. Azusa Pacific has now won three straight games to improve to 13-13 overall and 8-8 in the PacWest, while Point Loma falls to 13-10 overall, 9-7 PacWest.
"All margin for error for us is gone, and we knew this game was an opportunity to sweep the season series," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "We also know that Point Loma finishes the season with a very tough schedule and that might give us a chance to catch them in the standings."
Byrd provided five points in the middle of a game-turning 15-1 run, breaking a 54-54 tie with a three-point play before sinking two more free throws after he was fouled on another layup attempt the next time down the floor. Petar Kutlesic continued the run with a layup and a three-pointer to give Azusa Pacific a 64-55 lead with 5:24 to play.
"We know what we have on the line here, and we want to win out to make sure we secure a spot in the postseason," Byrd said. "Because of that, coming up with energy wasn't that tough. We played like a team on the road in the first half, but in the second half we really pulled together and had one of our best second-half performances all year."
The Cougars steadily climbed back from a slow start after hitting just two of its first 12 shots in the game until Kutlesic knocked down a three-pointer midway through the first half to answer a 9-0 PLNU run. The Sea Lions went on to take a double-digit lead later in the first half, but Byrd scored Azusa Pacific's next eight points to help the Cougars finish the half on a 12-6 run and cut Point Loma's halftime lead to just five points, 31-26.
"Every game tells a different story, and I just try to go with the pace of the game," Byrd said. "Every game I just hope I can be in position to make plays to help my team. Tonight that meant I needed to score a little bit more, and it was very nice to have a career-high in my last game in my home city with family and friends at the game."
Midway through the second half, Yusuf Shehata hit a three-pointer that gave Point Loma a 52-47 lead, and Shehata answered a pair of Connor Peterson free throws to maintain a five-point Sea Lions lead, 54-49, with eight minutes to play. Corey Langerveld answered with a three-pointer, and a Peterson layup tied the game at 54-54 with 7:09 remaining.
"In the first 25-30 minutes of the game, we had a lot of chances to go flat or hang our heads but we stayed right there within striking distance," Leslie said. "They forced more turnovers and had us missing shots in the first half, but we were still within five points, and we knew it was only a matter of time before the game turned."
After Byrd scored five straight points to break the tie, Kutlesic scored inside and added a three-pointer to wrap up the 15-1 run and give the Cougars a nine-point lead. Joey Schreiber added a three-point play with 3:42 left in the game to keep the lead at nine points, 67-58, and Byrd finished a layup with 1:14 left after Point Loma pulled within five to make it a 71-64 game heading into the final minute.
"We got some of their guys in foul trouble, and we were able to get to the line and finish," Leslie said. "We made some of the intangible plays that don't really show up in the stat sheet, but they're the type of things you need to go your way in order to win on the road. A lot of those intangibles that go into winning were put into play tonight, and that speaks to the team maturing and competing well together."
Byrd and Kutlesic shared the scoring lead with 17 points each, and Kutlesic added 10 rebounds to notch his ninth double-double of the year. Schreiber scored 16 points, and Langerveld added 13. After starting the game 2-for-12 from the field, Azusa Pacific went 25-for-46 (.543) the rest of the game to finish at 47 percent overall (27-for-58).
Point Loma was led by Trevor Peterson, who scored 14 points to go with four assists against his younger brother Connor, and Vince Boumann added 11 points with a team-high seven rebounds for the Sea Lions.
Azusa Pacific's final home game of the season will take place on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 3 p.m. against Concordia.
