Azusa Pacific used a barrage of long-range shooting to earn their fourth-straight neutral-site win of the season on Saturday, defeating Western Washington 90-80 in Irvine, California.

Azusa Pacific led wire-to-wire, with Ben Taufahema setting the tone early with a three-point field goal on the Cougars' opening possession.  It was the first of 10 triples that Azusa Pacific would make in the first half.  After a Western Washington run cut the lead to five with three minutes left in the half, Brennan Rymer scored eight points on three consecutive trips down the floor, sparking a 12-0 run that resulted in a 51-36 halftime lead over the preseason GNAC favorites.  Sophomore guard Terrence Becvar was a key contributor early on, draining five of his seven shots from beyond the arc to score 15 points off the bench, all in the first half.  The Vikings would not be able to climb back within single digits until the final minute of the game.

After being held scoreless in the first half, senior forward Selom Mawugbe opened the second half by scoring the Cougars' first six points after intermission.  Noah Bundrant got in on the action by making a pair of threes as part of his 15-point, 10-rebound, 4-assist effort, making all six of his attempts from the field as the Cougars pushed the lead to as much as 23 before a late Western Washington rally cut the final margin to 10.

Five Cougars scored in double figures.  Brennan Rymer led the team with 20 points and 8 assists.  Mawugbe finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks, while Jake Spurgeon added 13 points. "It's been good to see different guys show the ability to score, and it makes it that much harder for us to be guarded," said head coach Peter Bond. For the game, Azusa Pacific made 13 out of 24 attempts from three-point range (54.2%) while holding Western Washington to 35.8% from the field for the game.  Trevor Jasinsky led the Vikings with 30 points and 6 rebounds in a losing effort.

"This was one of the toughest stretches we will face this season," said Coach Bond, "playing five games in eight days against top competition was a challenge that I felt we responded well to. There is a lot we are able to learn from that will be a benefit for us moving forward."

With the win, the Cougars improve to 4-1 on the season.  Their next game will take place at home on Tuesday, November 26, at 7:30 p.m. against Cal State-San Marcos.