AZUSA, Calif. -- A renewed emphasis on its defense led Azusa Pacific to its fourth straight victory as the Pacific West Conference-leading Cougars led wire-to-wire in an 87-64 victory over Fresno Pacific Wednesday evening at the Felix Event Center.
The victory lifted Azusa Pacific to a 6-1 start in PacWest play, and it sets the stage for the renewal of the Cougars' traditional rivalry matchup against Biola when the teams face off Saturday night in Azusa, which will be the opening basketball installment of the Cornerstone Cup rivalry series presented by West Coast Sand & Gravel.
Four players scored at least 14 points for Azusa Pacific, with junior point guard Darien McClain leading the way with 19 points while Mandrell Worthy came off the bench to score 18 points in 19 minutes of action.
Selom Mawugbe added 15 points and 8 rebounds, and he spearheaded the Cougars' defensive effort with game-highs of 4 blocks and 3 steals. Corey Langerveld added a block and a steal to go with his 14 points and 6 rebounds, helping hold Fresno Pacific to its second-lowest scoring performance all season while limiting the Sunbirds to a .343 (24-for-70) shooting percentage.
Azusa Pacific never trailed, opening the game with a 7-0 run and leading by as many as 16 points in the first half before settling for a six-point halftime lead, 36-30. The Cougars ran the lead back into double digits for good with 13:46 to play when Worthy came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast for the fast break layup that gave Azusa Pacific a 51-41 lead.
How It Happened: Although Azusa Pacific never trailed, Fresno Pacific kept the game close with a 12-2 run to close out the first half. Ben Taufahema capped a 13-3 run which gave the Cougars a 31-15 lead when he hit the first of back-to-back three-pointers, but Azusa Pacific only scored 2 points in the final 5:30 of the half. The Cougars improved from 43 percent shooting (15-for-35) in the first half to 55 percent (17-for-31) after halftime to set up a 51-34 second-half scoring edge.
Turning Point: After Fresno Pacific pulled within three points, 36-33, on a Sam Holmes three-pointer just one minute into the second half, Azusa Pacific responded with a quick 7-0 run capped by a McClain trey. When FPU got back within six points on two separate occasions, the last time when FPU's leading scorer Sam Burt scored his only points of the game on a pair of free throws with 15:09 to play, McClain answered with layups in the paint. His coast-to-coast fast break layup sparked an 8-0 run, and Azusa Pacific outscored FPU by a 40-23 margin over the final 15 minutes.
Azusa Pacific Standouts: Mawugbe and Tyson Kanseyo were primarily responsible for limiting FPU's leading scorer Burt to just two points, as Mawugbe tallied 4 blocks while Kanseyo came off the bench for 2 blocks and 5 rebounds in 13 minutes of action. Mawugbe is averaging 3.6 blocks per game through the first 7 games of conference play, notching at least 3 blocks in 6 of the team's 7 PacWest contests. Worthy (18 points) and Mawugbe (15 points) each posted a season-high in scoring, while Petar Kutlesic collected a team-high 9 rebounds along with 2 steals.
Fresno Pacific Standouts: Aamondae Coleman came off the FPU bench to lead all scorers with 21 points, hitting 9-of-14 from the field to go with 6 rebounds. Jake Straughan added 14 points, and Sam Holmes finished with 11 points. Adrian Antunez was the Sunbirds' leading rebounder, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds, and Elijah Hill dished out a game-high 6 assists.
Quotable: "It wasn't too difficult to get the team ready for Fresno Pacific, because they beat us the last two times we played. We had to take care of that and make sure we gave them a good effort. They're a very good offensive team, and we needed to bring a collective effort on the defensive side to disrupt them and limit the quality of their looks. Selom and Tyson did an unbelievable job controlling the paint, and that was probably the biggest factor to (Fresno Pacific leading scorer) Sam Burt's lack of success tonight." - Head Coach Justin Leslie
"One of our focus points coming into this game was to be offensive-minded on defense, and what that means is staying active in terms of disrupting passes and not letting them get into positions where they were comfortable scoring. We wanted to get them out of those spots and put them in positions where they weren't as efficient." – Sophomore forward Selom Mawugbe
"Staying focused after a big road win because both teams we play this week aren't the type of teams you normally find in the bottom half of the standings. Fresno Pacific is one of the more talented offensive teams in the league, so we knew we had to lock in on defense." - Senior guard Corey Langerveld
By The Numbers: Azusa Pacific posted a 23-5 edge in fast break points, scoring efficiently in transition despite only scoring 10 of those points off turnovers… The Cougars also held a 36-20 edge in points in the paint… Fresno Pacific edged the Cougars in rebounding, 43-41, just the fifth time in 15 games this season Azusa Pacific has been out-rebounded… The Cougars committed just 7 turnovers, its second-lowest total in a game this year, with only 2 turnovers committed after halftime.
What's Next: Azusa Pacific hosts Biola in the opening installment of the Cornerstone Cup rivalry series in basketball on Saturday, Jan. 6. The first 500 Azusa Pacific community members (students, faculty, staff, and alumni) to Saturday's basketball doubleheader (5:30 p.m. women's game, followed by 7:30 p.m. men's game) will receive a free commemorative Cornerstone Cup rivalry series t-shirt.
