AZUSA, Calif. – The Azusa Pacific Cougars led wire-to-wire, but still had to hold off a late charge from their archrival Biola to win their home opener, 77-68 at the Felix Event Center Saturday evening. The victory came one day after the Cougars fell on the road at Biola, and now the season series is tied at 1-1. The two teams will play two more games in February (Feb. 12 & 13). Junior guard Ben Avera made five three-point shots in the first half to help the Cougars build the lead, and Mandrell Worthy had a double-double playing his first home game in nearly three years, notching 13 points and 12 rebounds.

How It Happened: The Cougars made four threes in the first seven minutes of the game, building a 20-3 advantage that felt eerily reminiscent of the 20-2 advantage they had jumped out to in their last game on the Event Center floor, also against Biola in last year's PacWest tournament.  Azusa Pacific would push the advantage in the first half to as much as 22 on multiple occasions, with the team making nine triples in the first half of play, eventually taking a 42-27 lead into the locker room.  Avera made all five of his shots in the first half, finishing with a team-high 15 points.

Turning Point(s): Looking to repeat their semifinal comeback from last season, Biola had cut the lead down to seven early in the second half at 49-42.  With mostly second-unit players on the floor, the Cougars locked down things on the defensive end, holding the Eagles without a field goal for more than six minutes, slowly putting together a 13-2 run that was finished by a 3-point play by Ken West putting the Cougars back up to 62-44 with 9:30 remaining. Biola had time for one final run and had cut the lead down to five in the final minute, but Worthy came up with a huge blocked shot in the paint with 35 seconds left and secured the rebound, then proceeded to make four free throws down the stretch to help preserve the victory.

By the Numbers: The Cougars' bench had an effective night, outscoring their Biola counterparts, 23-8.  Terrence Becvar and Trevon Ary-Turner each scored nine points.  Up front, Sasha French added 12 points and six rebounds as the Cougars won the battle of the boards, 43-33.

Up Next: The Cougars (1-1) now turn their attention to the other Eagles from Orange County, as they will next play a back-to-back against Concordia-Irvine, with CUI hosting the opening match-up on Friday at 5:00 p.m., then returning to the Felix Event Center next Saturday.