MONMOUTH, Ore. -- The playoff fate was worth its wait.

A week after a Pacific West Conference tournament defeat to California Baptist left Azusa Pacific's postseason aspirations in agonizing doubt, the Cougars validated their selection to the eight-team regional playoff field with a 69-65 upset of No. 2-seeded Dixie State, which won PacWest regular-season and tournament titles and entered the NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament riding a 17-game win streak.

Petar Kutlesic had two crucial putbacks in the final two minutes, first putting back a missed three-pointer off the front rim with the shot clock winding down to give Azusa Pacific a four-point edge, 66-62, with 1:49 left. After Brandon Simister answered with a three-pointer a minute later, Kutlesic boarded another missed three-pointer to push the lead back to 68-65 with just 19 seconds remaining.

The Cougars sealed the victory with a defensive stop, forcing a three-point miss from PacWest Player of the Year Trevor Hill with the clock winding down, and Darien McClain sank one-of-two free throws with eight-tenths of a second left on the clock for the final four-point margin.

Kutlesic finished with 18 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, while McClain hit 6-of-11 three-pointers to finish with a game-high 21 points. Dixie State was led by Simister (17 points) and Hill (15 points, 11 rebounds) in its final West Region appearance, as the Trailblazers move next year to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in Division II's South Central Region.

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 21-10 overall, while Dixie State finishes the campaign with a 23-7 overall record. The Cougars lost the only regular-season matchup between the teams, an 88-73 defeat on Dec. 9, in St. George, Utah.

What's Next: The Cougars move on to the West Region semifinals to take on another PacWest foe, No. 3-seed California Baptist. The teams square off at 5:00 p.m. in the first of two semifinal matchups, with No. 5-seed Saint Martin's taking on No. 1-seed and tournament host Western Oregon at 7:30 p.m.

How It Happened: Azusa Pacific weathered an early storm, as Dixie State used a 9-0 run over four-minute stretch midway through the first half to take a 19-12 lead with 10:08 left in the first half. Over the final 10 minutes of the half, McClain scored 11 points with a trio of three-pointers to help the Cougars go into halftime facing a three-point deficit, 32-29.

The second half began with a three-minute scoreless stretch for both teams before Corey Langerveld drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 32-32. He added another trey with 15:05 left, capping an 8-1 burst to give Azusa Pacific a 40-36 advantage. After Langerveld traded baskets with Austin Montgomery, Dixie State put together a 10-0 run over another four-minute stretch, but McClain rediscovered his first-half form with back-to-back treys just 19 seconds apart to tie the game at 48-48 with 9:19 to play.

From that point on, there were five lead changes and eight tie scores, and neither team led by more than two points until the first Kutlesic putback with 1:49 to play.

Turning Point: The final four minutes of the game belonged to Kutlesic, the Cougars' All-PacWest first team forward. With the game tied, 62-62, Kutlesic blocked a Hill layup and rebounded a Simister miss on the next possession before finding Selom Mawugbe with a nifty pass out of a two-on-one post play with the shot clock winding down. When the next offensive possession took the game clock under two minutes with a 64-62 Cougar lead, McClain's off-balance three-pointer caught the front end of the rim and bounced into the hands of Kutlesic for the putback and a four-point lead with 1:49 to play.

Simister hit a three-pointer with less than a minute to play, cutting Azusa Pacific's lead to a single point, 66-65, but another three-point miss at the end of the shot clock was put back into the hoop by Kutlesic on the offensive boards, giving the Cougars a 68-65 cushion heading into the closing seconds.

Azusa Pacific Standouts: Kutlesic notched his eighth double-double of the season, posting totals of 18 points and 10 boards, while McClain registered his seventh game of 20 points or more with a 21-point performance. His six three-pointers were his most since mid-December, when he knocked down seven threes in back-to-back games. Mawugbe finished with 6 blocks, pushing his season total to 87 which puts him within one of the program's single-season record for blocked shots (88) set in 2001 by former Cougar and current head coach Justin Leslie. Langerveld hit 6-of-11 from the field with a trio of three-pointers to finish with 15 points, and he added a game-high five assists.

Dixie State Standouts: Simister and Hill led the way with a combined 32 points, but they were Dixie State's only double-figure scorers. Kyler Nielson and Montgomery contributed 9 points each for the Trailblazers, who shot 34 percent (22-for-65) from the field and 29 percent (4-for-14) from three-point range.

By The Numbers: Dixie State posted a 44-33 rebounding edge, just the fifth time this season Azusa Pacific was out-rebounded by double figures… The Trailblazers posted a 13-4 edge in second chance points… The Cougars shot 54 percent (15-for-28) from the field in the second half and finished at 49 percent (27-for-55) overall in the game… Azusa Pacific collected five more field goals (27) than Dixie State (22), on 10 fewer shot attempts.