AZUSA, Calif. – The Azusa Pacific men's basketball team's offense sprung to life after a cold first half to record their tenth consecutive victory, defeating Notre Dame de Namur by a 74-54 final Saturday evening at the Felix Event Center.

Neither team was able to do much offensively in the first half, as the Cougars were held to just 25.8% from the field in the first half, including just 4-22 from beyond the three-point line.  While the defense also held the Argonauts to just 25% shooting, they allowed the Argonauts to score the final seven points of the first half, and the game was knotted up at 21-21 at intermission.  Jake Spurgeon was one of the few players who proved capable of bypassing the metaphorical lid that seemed to be stuck on the basket, putting up eight points, five rebounds, and two blocks to pace the Cougars in the opening 20 minutes.

It was at the start of the second half that the Cougars started to take control of the game.  Spurgeon hit a pair of triples to kick off a 23-7 run that would put Azusa Pacific ahead for good, while Selom Mawugbe helped clean things up inside.  Mawugbe would finish with a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks; while Spurgeon would have 18 points and 9 boards of his own.  Mawugbe's 3 blocked shots tie him with Florida Southern's Jalyn Hinton for the most in Division II with 58 on the season.  Joining the pair of Cougars in scoring was Ben Taufahema, who made 4 three-point shots while also handing out three assists.  Trevor Thompson did his best to keep Notre Dame de Namur in the game, leading all scorers on the night with 21 points, but the rest of the Argonauts were held to a combined 12-42 from the field, including just 1-12 from downtown.

A big part of that second half advantage appeared to come from the Cougars really putting their size advantage to use.  All 12 Cougars recorded at least one rebound, and all seven bench players had at least two.  In all, the Cougars outrebounded the Argonauts 47-27, including 14 on the offensive glass which were converted into a decisive 17-2 edge in second-chance points.  An added bonus of all those extra opportunities was frequent trips to the foul line, where the Cougars shot a blistering 13-14 (92.9%) in the second half.

With the win, the 12^th-ranked Cougars improve to 15-3, 10-2 in conference play and remain just half a game behind Point Loma for first place in the conference.  The two teams will meet for the second time this season on February 5 in San Diego.  It is also the Cougars' 10^th straight win, which is the second-longest streak they have run off since joining the NCAA in 2012.  The 2014-15 team, who advanced to the Elite Eight in the program's first ever NCAA tournament appearance, won 14 in a row from November 18, 2014 to January 12, 2015.

Azusa Pacific's next chance to extend this streak will come on Saturday, February 1, when the Cornerstone Cup rivalry resumes in La Mirada when the Cougars visit Biola.