SEATTLE, Wash. – Despite trailing by as many as 13 points in the second half, Azusa Pacific earned a resilient win on Saturday, defeating Chico State 97-91 in overtime at the SODEXO Tip-Off Classic hosted by Seattle Pacific.

While Azusa Pacific scored the first two points of the game with a Jake Spurgeon layup 30 seconds into the game, the Cougars would trail from the 17:47 mark in the first half until the 6:07 mark in the second half. Azusa Pacific faced its largest deficit of the game when Chico State took a 58-45 lead with 14:32 remaining in the second, but the

Cougars battled back. Over the next eight minutes, the Cougars outscored the Wildcats 24-10, as Spurgeon capped off the run with a two-point basket that put the Cougars up 69-68 with 6:06 remaining.

Following a back-and-forth final six minutes of regulation action, the two teams were locked up at 82-82, sending the game into overtime.

To start overtime, Cougar guard Ben Avera did what he had done all game, as he knocked down his eighth three-pointer of the night to give the Cougars an early 85-82 lead. With 1:36 remaining in overtime, the score was tied at 89-89. Following two made free throws by Brennan Rymer, Azusa Pacific held a 91-89 lead with 1:18 remaining. Rymer would give the Cougars a two-possession lead about 30 seconds later, when he hit a three-pointer to put Azusa Pacific up 94-89 with 43 seconds remaining. Chico State would cut its deficit back down to one possession on the other end of the floor, as the Wildcats' Isaiah Brooks hit a two-point jumper with 31 seconds left to make it 94-91, Cougars. Ben Taufahema would extend the Cougars' lead back up to five at 96-91, as he hit two freethrows with 19 seconds left. Chico State was unable to answer, and Taufahema added one more freethrow with four seconds left to give Azusa Pacific the 97-91 lead.

Azusa Pacific shot significantly better in the second half and overtime. Through the first 20 minutes of action, the Cougars shot 42% from the floor and 33% from beyond-the-arc. After halftime, the Cougars shot 63% overall and 67% from three.

Avera had a huge game for the Cougars, as he scored a game-high and career-high 27 points on 8-for-11 shooting from beyond-the-arc. Defensively, he also added two blocks. "Ben was phenomenal for us tonight," said head coach Peter Bond, "on both ends of the floor he was in the right spots and just made play after play."

Spurgeon was another 20+ scorer for the Cougars, finishing with 22 points, four assists and three rebounds. Also in double figures was Rymer and Selom Mawugbe, as Rymer had 18 points, seven steals and two assists, while Mawugbe posted 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.

"We battled tonight," said Coach Bond, "it did not take a huge speech or anything at halftime, our guys knew what they needed to do and so they came out in the second half and got after it. This weekend was a valuable one for us in that we came out and had the chance to compete with some great teams in our region. Our guys were locked in and set the tone for what is expected from one another this season."

Azusa Pacific, now 2-0 to start the season, will have its home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The Cougars will welcome Cal State Los Angeles at 7:30 pm in the Felix Event Center.