SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific's five-game winning streak was snapped in a 94-82 loss to Point Loma on Saturday night. This is the most points the Cougars have allowed an opponent to score after giving up only 65 points a game on average. Azusa Pacific played catch-up most of the game after trailing by 21 points at one point and working the deficit down to eight multiple times in the second half.
Coming off a big game against Biola (17 points), McKelary Robertson had a season-high 26 of the bench's 36 points, shooting 5-8 from 3 pt line and 7-8 from the FT line. He was followed by Justin Hemsley with 21 points and a team-high of 5 rebounds. Ken West added another 15 points and 2 blocks. Nate Kleppe had 4 rebounds and a block as well.
How it Happened: The Cougars started with the tip-off and first points of the game however, they went back and forth with the Sea Lions right away.
Point Loma began to break away with a shooting display that saw 8-of-9 field goals be made from beyond the arc within the first 10 minutes of the game. This contributed to their 15-point lead right from the start.
Azusa Pacific was able to claw their way back and cut the deficit to three just before the Sea Lions hit another three, forced a turnover, and sank another three to head into halftime with a nine-point lead.
Coming into the second half with a score of 40-31, West picked up the first points of the game followed by four team fouls for the Cougars in the first two minutes of the game.
Point Loma then went on a run taking an 18-point advantage within the first five minutes of the half. Then, the fouls came raining in as both teams entered the bonus within the first 10 minutes of the half.
Hemsley and Robertson began to work off each other, cutting the lead to eight after trailing by 21 at one point.
Close to the end of the game, APU began to benefit from both teams being in foul trouble, shooting 24-29 from the line, and was slowly chipping away at the deficit. However, Point Loma still led from the charity stripe, shooting 23-24.
The Sea Lions pulled away in the last stretch of the game as they had four players who had 20 or more points.
By the Numbers: Point Loma simply outshot the Cougars while also capitalizing off Azusa Pacific's offense. In the first half, APU shot 39% while PLNU shot 45% from the field goal territory. In the second half, PLNU also led shooting with 60% field goal percentage to APU's 54%
From the three-point line, Point Loma shot 50% (13-for-26) and Azusa Pacific shot 43% (10-for-23).
The Sea Lions had 22 points off of Azusa Pacific's 14 turnovers while only committing eight of their own.
Up Next: The Cougars are hoping to bounce back in their upcoming home game against Life Pacific on Monday, December 20th which will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. in the Felix Event Center.
