AZUSA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific men's basketball defeated Northwest Nazarene 78-71 in its home opener Friday at the Felix Event Center. The Cougars dominated fastbreak points 17-2 on Black Friday to push them towards their second straight win of the season.
Ken West and
Nate Kleppe led the way as the two big men each played a huge part of the result on both ends of the floor. West led the Cougars with 15 points including a team-high three 3-point field goals while Kleppe recorded his first double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds and also recorded a pair of blocks late in the game to secure the win.
McKelary Robertson and
Hayden Gray were the only other two in double figures in scoring with 11 points each.
How it Happened: Azusa Pacific trailed to start the game until Gray made a three-pointer and got a steal that resulted in a fastbreak lay-in that gave the Cougars their first lead, 10-9 with 14 minutes remaining in the first half.
Trailing 17-13, the Cougars went on a 21-6 run over the course of seven minutes of action. To cap off the run, Gray recorded another steal that led to him knocking down a transition three-pointer to give Azusa Pacific its largest lead of the game, 34-21.
The Nighthawks would respond with an 13-2 run of their own as George Reidy recorded his team's final six points of the half as the Cougars held onto a slim 36-34 lead at the break.
To start the second half, Azusa Pacific struggled to take care of the ball as they turned it over five times in the opening six minutes. Northwest Nazarene capitalized taking a 48-43 advantage with 14:15 remaining in the game.
The Cougars would respond just a few minutes later as Robertson made a baseline floater plus the foul, he would hit the subsequent free throw to tie the game at 50-apiece. Robertson then hit a pair of threes which stretched his team's lead to 58-54 with 9:20 to play.
Turning Point: Locked in a back-and-forth battle with just six minutes to play, West and Kleppe started a 7-0 run to put the Cougars up for good. Tied at 58, West's corner three swung the momentum back to Azusa Pacific. On the ensuing possession, Kleppe blocked a Nighthawk layup before getting a fastbreak tip-in to up the lead to five. West would then cap off the run with another offensive board and putback to give his team a 65-58 lead and forcing a Northwest Nazarene timeout.
Back to a one-possession game, West hit another big 3-pointer with just over two minutes to play to give the Cougars a six-point advantage. The Nighthawks would cut the lead to two points under a minute to play but a backdoor layup from Terrance Becvar and a pair of free throws sealed the win for Azusa Pacific.
By the Numbers: The Cougars dominated in transition with 17 points on the fastbreak compared to just two for the Nighthawks. Azusa Pacific knocked down eight first half triples shooting 40% from downtown (8-20) while Northwest Nazarene made just five field goals from beyond the arc in the game (5-17). The Nighthawks had the advantage in points in the paint, 32-20 but the Cougars dominated in points off of turnovers 28-14.
Up Next: The Cougars open PacWest play against Holy Names next Thursday, December 3rd at the Felix Event Center. Come out and show your support as tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. after the women's team will host Holy Names beforehand at 5:15 p.m.
