*Azusa Pacific AND Cal State San Marcos both have the mascot "Cougars," however, any reference to "Cougars" in this article is solely Azusa Pacific.
 
AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific led for just a little over one minute in the first half, and 1.7 seconds in the second half on Tuesday night, but the second half lead could not have come at a better time for the Cougars, as Ben Avera hit a contested three-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining and lifted the Cougars to a 67-66 victory over Cal State San Marcos in the Felix Event Center.
 
While the ending sent the Azusa Pacific team & fans home happy, the Cougars needed to claw their way out of a huge first half deficit to be in position to steal the victory. Cal State San Marcos jumped all over the Cougars in the first half, as it took a lead as large as 22 points at 36-14 with 4:07 remaining before halftime. Through the first 20 minutes of action, the Cougars shot just 25% from the floor (8-for-31) and 23% from deep (4-for-17), while allowing Cal State San Marcos to shoot 50% from the floor and from beyond-the-arc. Though Azusa Pacific closed out the half on a 9-2 run from the 4:07 mark until halftime, Cal State San Marcos went into the locker room up 38-23.
 
The Cougars slowly chipped away at the deficit, but Cal State San Marcos was able to maintain a cushion around 10 points through the first 15 minutes of the second half. Trailing by nine points late in the second half at 63-54 with 2:17 remaining, the Cougars made their last push to get back in the ballgame. Over the next two minutes, Azusa Pacific went on a 9-2 run that was capped off by a layup from Brennan Rymer with 15 seconds remaining to cut Cal State San Marcos' lead down to one at 65-64. The Cougars would foul on their ensuing defensive possession, sending Cal State San Marcos to the line. Alex Gil-Fernandez hit the first of his two free throws, but missed the second to make the score 66-64 with 13 seconds remaining.
 
Off of the missed free throw, Azusa Pacific brought the ball up the floor to set up the game-winning play. Rymer dribbled up court and swung it to Avera on the left wing, Avera then took a couple dribbles towards the top of the key and reversed the ball to Noah Bundrant. Following the pass to Bundrant, Avera received a back screen from Selom Mawugbe, as he flared back out to the left wing where he received the ball back from Bundrant. With the clock winding down, Avera made a shot fake that caused his defender to lunge which forced Avera to readjust his shot and fall to the left, eventually releasing the ball from an awkward position. Once the ball left Avera's hands, it went straight through the net to give the Cougars the victory.
 
While Avera's shot was the highlight of the night, the win was made possible by Azusa Pacific's response in the second half, following a tough performance in the first half. "Our guys showed a great sense of maturity tonight," said head coach Peter Bond, "they recognized all the things that were hurting us in the first half, and came out after halftime and fixed them. They did not hang their heads or get discouraged but just rallied together and got back to playing the style of basketball we need to be successful." One of those areas that the Cougars corrected was their turnovers on the offensive end. By the 10 minute mark in the first half, Azusa Pacific had already committed 10 turnovers. Over the final 30 minutes of action, the Cougars had just one turnover.
 
Another sign of the Cougars' maturity was their defensive effort in the midst of a rough night shooting the ball. While there was improvement in their numbers from the first half to the second half, it was well below their season average. The Cougars ultimately ended the game with a 32% clip from the floor and just 22% from three. On the defensive end, the Cougars dropped Cal State San Marcos to 30% from the floor in the second half, and did not allow a single three-pointer over the final 20 minutes of action. "Our energy and effort defensively was what carried us to the win tonight," said Coach Bond, "we were able to pick up this win despite having an uncharacteristic night on the offensive end. To come out and do that is incredibly valuable and something we can learn from."
 
Azusa Pacific was led by Mawugbe, who posted his fourth double-double in just the sixth game of the season. He finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds, to go along with four blocks, four steals and two assists. He was joined in double figures by Rymer, who had 16 points, and Avera, who scored 11. Rymer also had a game-high five assists.
 
With the win, Azusa Pacific is now 5-1 and closes its non-conference portion of the schedule. The Cougars will open PacWest play in Hawai'i for three games in five days. The first game in the islands is against Hawai'i Hilo on Monday, December 2 at 7:30 pm (HST).