SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific's hopes at a PacWest Tournament championship ended in the semifinals Friday afternoon, as the No. 4-seeded Cougars fell to top-seeded regular-season champion Point Loma, 77-65.

Senior guard Darien McClain scored all of his game-high 19 points in the second half as Azusa Pacific tried to erase a 32-24 halftime deficit, but Point Loma's 41-31 rebounding edge helped the Sea Lions secure the double-digit win.

With the defeat, Azusa Pacific's season ends with a 20-11 overall record, while Point Loma advances to Saturday's PacWest Tournament championship game against No. 2-seeded Concordia. Selom Mawugbe, who scored 38 points with 18 rebounds and 9 blocks in the Cougars' two tournament games, was named to the All-Tournament team.

How It Happened: Point Loma's double-digit rebound margin included 16 offensive boards, which led to an 18-6 advantage in second chance points. Midway through the first half, Point Loma went on a 9-0 run, holding the Cougars scoreless for over four minutes to gain separation, and the Sea Lions led the rest of the way. A Noah Bundrant three-pointer with 6:05 left in the first half brought Azusa Pacific within three, 20-17, but Point Loma put together another 12-4 run to extend the lead to 32-21. Bundrant hit another three with 1:26 left in the half to cut the halftime margin to 32-24.

In the second half, Point Loma shot 48 percent (14-for-29) from the floor, hitting 3-of-5 three-pointers and scoring another 14 points from the free throw line on 14-of-27 shooting from the charity stripe. Over the first four minutes of the second half, Azusa Pacific hit three times from long range to start the half with a 13-8 run that cut the lead back to three, 40-37, with 16:08 to play. However, Point Loma answered again with an 18-5 run over the next eight minutes, taking its largest lead of the game at 58-42 with 8:08 left. The Cougars never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Turning Point: Azusa Pacific's strong second-half start began with a dunk by Selom Mawugbe on the opening possession, and Will Ferris hit a pair three-pointers after Cougar offensive rebounds. Noah Bundrant added his third three-pointer of the game to pull Azusa Pacific within four, 39-35, and Gerritt Beetstra scored on the first possession after entering the game to cut Point Loma's lead to 40-37. However, the Cougars scored just five points in an eight-minute stretch, resulting in a 58-42 deficit heading into the final eight minutes. During that stretch, Azusa Pacific shot 1-for-9 from the field and 3-for-6 on free throws while committing three turnovers.

Azusa Pacific Standouts: Darien McClain scored 19 points with seven rebounds, and five assists, and he was joined in double figures by Selom Mawugbe, who registered 13 points and game-highs of 11 rebounds and three blocks. It was the third double-double of the season for Mawugbe, who has had nine rebounds in 11 other games this season. Noah Bundrant produced nine points, hitting 3-of-4 three-point attempts, and seniors Will Ferris and Tyson Kanseyo contributed eight points each.

Point Loma Standouts: Preston Beverly tied McClain to lead all scorers with 19 points, and he added 11 rebounds, two blocks, and two steals to lead the PacWest regular-season champions. Josh Rodriguez added 14 points, four assists, and a game-high five steals, and two others scored in double figures for Point Loma as Ben Okhotin came off the bench for 12 points and PacWest Player of the Year Daulton Hommes scored 10.

By The Numbers: Selom Mawugbe had three blocks, pushing his single-season program record total to 107 as he currently ranks second in Division II in total blocks… After posting a positive rebounding margin in the final eight regular-season games (and 11 of the last 12), Azusa Pacific was outrebounded in both of its PacWest Tournament contests, with Point Loma posting a 41-31 advantage on the boards… Point Loma shot 35 free throws, the most by a Cougar opponent all season, although the Sea Lions were just 60 percent (21-for-35) from the line, including a 52 percent (14-for-27) clip in the second half.

Postgame Press Conference: Head Coach Justin Leslie, Will Ferris, Darien McClain

Semifinal Video Recap (produced by PacWest Conference)