HILO, Hawai'i -- For the first time in its seven-year Pacific West Conference membership, Azusa Pacific entered the final game of its annual island road trip with a chance to complete a three-game Hawai'i sweep, but Hawai'i Hilo spoiled the island finale by handing the Cougars a 64-60 defeat Friday night.

The Cougars led with less than two minutes to play, but the Vulcans finished the game with a 9-2 run as Denhym Brooke's three-point play with 28 seconds left broke a 60-60 tie and gave Hawai'i Hilo a lead it never relinquished.

Selom Mawugbe led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 8-for-10 from the floor while adding nine rebounds and four blocks, but Azusa Pacific was hampered by 26 turnovers and a 21 percent (4-for-19) shooting performance from three-point range.

With the loss, Azusa Pacific is now 14-9 overall and 11-5 in the PacWest, while Hawai'i Hilo picked up a crucial win towards its pursuit of a berth in the six-team PacWest Tournament as the Vulcans moved into fifth place in the conference standings after improving to 9-8 overall and 7-6 in the PacWest.

Cougars In Hawai'i: As a PacWest program (starting in 2012-13 season), Azusa Pacific is now 10-10 all-time on the Hawaiian Islands. The Cougars had never won their first two games of the Hawai'i trip until this season, although they won two-of-three games on two previous trips (2015, 2016).

How It Happened: Azusa Pacific surged to an early 10-4 lead with Ben Taufahema scoring six of the first 10 points for the Cougars. However, Hawai'i Hilo answered with an 11-0 run to take a 15-10 lead and hold the edge for the rest of the first half. The Vulcans led by as many as 10 and took an eight-point lead (34-26) into halftime.

Jake Spurgeon scored six consecutive points to start the second half, slashing the eight-point margin down to just two points as Azusa Pacific opened the second half with a 16-4 run. Gerritt Beetstra capped the run with a three-pointer, giving the Cougars a 42-38 edge with 15:56 to play. Neither team led by more than four the rest of the way, and the lead changed hands seven times in the final 10 minutes of play.

Turning Point: Azusa Pacific scored six straight points to take a 56-52 lead with 3:36 to play, but a Larry Bush three-pointer with 3:18 to play snapped a three-minute scoreless stretch for Hawai'i Hilo and made it a one-possession game down the stretch. After a Noah Bundrant layup was answered by two Brooke free throws, the Vulcans took control of the game when James Griffin nailed a three-pointer to give UHH a 60-58 lead with 1:27 to play.

Taufahema scored on a steal and layup with just under a minute to go, but Brooke scored and was fouled on a baseline layup with 28 seconds remaining, and he made the free throw to make it a 63-60 lead. Jordan Graves picked up a steal near the three-point line at the other end of the floor as the Cougars got into their offense, and Bush sank one-of-two free throws to give the Vulcans a four-point edge.

Azusa Pacific Standouts: Mawugbe's 21 points were a game-high and just three points off his season-high, and he was joined in double figures by Taufahema (13 points) and Spurgeon (11 points). Mawugbe also registered the game-high in rebounds with nine, his 14th consecutive game with at least seven boards. Taufahema scored nine of his 13 in the first half, while Spurgeon scored nine of his 11 in the second half. No other Cougar scored more than four points, although Darien McClain dished out a team-high four assists and Bundrant registered seven rebounds and a pair of steals.

Hawai'i Hilo Standouts: Five Vulcans scored at least nine, led by Bush's team-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Brooke and Cleo Cain added 11 points each, as Brooke went 5-for-5 at the free throw line and collected four blocks. Kupaa Harrison finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds, and James Griffin posted nine points, eight assists, five rebounds, and four steals.

By The Numbers: Azusa Pacific gave up a season-high 26 turnovers, surpassing its previous high of 20 in the fourth game of the season… Despite the 26-14 disparity in turnovers, Hawai'i Hilo only compiled a 24-18 edge in points off turnovers… The Cougars' 4-for-19 (21 percent) three-point shooting was also a season low in three-point percentage… Azusa Pacific posted a 43-34 rebounding margin, and the Cougars have won the rebounding battle in 11 of the past 16 games since getting outrebounded in each of the first seven games of the season… Hawai'i Hilo registered 19 assists on 24 made baskets… The Cougars had won all six previous games against Hawai'i Hilo as PacWest rivals, winning each of its three previous visits to Hilo since joining the PacWest in the 2012-13 season.

What's Next: After three games in five days in Hawai'i, Azusa Pacific moves into consecutive single-game weeks starting with a Saturday, Feb. 9 trip to Fresno Pacific before returning home for the final five games of the regular season.