AZUSA, Calif. – The Azusa Pacific men's basketball team rode another night of hot shooting and a strong effort on the glass to pull away from Hawai'i-Hilo in a 78-59 win Thursday night at the Felix Event Center.

For the second straight game, the Cougars started out with a big run, jumping out to a 14-2 lead after the first five minutes.  The Vulcans, however, would answer with a run of their own, as Kupaa Harrison scored 13 points in a three-minute span to briefly take the lead at 24-23.  A 7-2 closing run in the first half gave the Cougars a 39-32 advantage at intermission.

In the second half, the Cougars pressed their advantage inside and slowly pulled away, eventually outrebounding the Vulcans 40-26.  This advantage in close eventually showed on the scoreboard as well, with Azusa Pacific outscoring the Vulcans in the paint 24-8 in the second half, and 42-16 for the game.  While both teams did a decent job taking care of the ball, Azusa Pacific was able to capitalize on what opportunities they did force, converting 12 Hawai'i-Hilo turnovers into 20 points.

The Cougars shot 52.4% from the field on the night, the seventh time this season that the team has made more than half of their shots.  Selom Mawugbe led the Cougars with 18 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. Mawugbe made 9 of his 11 field goal attempts on the evening, improving his shooting percentage to .720 for the season, currently the highest mark in NCAA Division II.

Joining Mawugbe in double figures in scoring were Brennan Rymer (13 points and 9 assists), Ben Taufahema (11 points, 3-5 on three-point tries), and Terrence Becvar (11 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds), while Noah Bundrant tied a season high with 10 rebounds.  In all, ten different Cougars made a shot.  Harrison led the Vulcans with 26 points, but was held without a field goal in the second half.

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 13-3 on the season (8-2 in conference play), and has won eight consecutive games, their longest winning streak since an eight-game run during the 2015-16 season, which was the most recent time the Cougars won the Pacific West Conference title.  The Cougars will attempt to make it nine victories in a row on Saturday night when they take part in this season's Cornerstone Cup competition, hosting Biola in the Felix Event Center at 7:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear black to the game.