HONOLULU, Hawai'i – Azusa Pacific closed out its three-game trip to the Hawaiian islands with its first PacWest victory of the season, as the Cougars took down Hawai'i Pacific 71-62 on Friday night.

Azusa Pacific was led by Selom Mawugbe, who scored 17 points, had seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Mawugbe was joined in double figures by Terrence Becvar (15) and Brennan Rymer (13). Noah Bundrant had a game-high eight rebounds, while also scoring seven points.

While Azusa Pacific took a 38-24 lead into halftime, the second half saw the Sharks fight back into the game. Over the first nine minutes of action in the second half, Hawai'i Pacific went on a 25-8 run to cut its deficit down to just three points at 49-46 with 10:54 remaining in the contest. While the Cougars did not give up the lead, Hawai'i Pacific continued to stick around. At the 5:39 mark left in regulation, Azusa Pacific held a 57-54 lead. Over the next four minutes, the Cougars used a 10-2 run to pull away from the Sharks down the stretch, as Azusa Pacific pushed its lead up to 67-56 with a dunk by Jake Spurgeon at the 1:22 mark. The Cougar lead would not shrink to less than eight points over the remainder of the game.

The difference in the game was the turnover differential/points off of turnovers. Hawai'i Pacific turned the ball over 23 times, which Azusa Pacific scored 21 points off of those opportunities, while the Cougars committed 13 turnovers which the Sharks scored just 11 points as a result of the miscues.

Azusa Pacific shot 40% from the floor (24-for-60) and 31% from deep (8-for-26). Hawai'i Pacific held the advantage in shooting percentage, as the Sharks were 42% (21-for-50) overall, and 53% (8-for-15) from beyond-the-arc. On the glass, the two sides were fairly even, as the Sharks had 34 totals rebounds, and the Cougars collected 32 rebounds.

With the victory, Azusa Pacific is now 6-3 overall and 1-2 in PacWest play. The Cougars continue their PacWest schedule with a visit to Fresno Pacific on Saturday, December 14 at 4:30 pm.