AZUSA, Calif.— Azusa Pacific men's basketball defeated Life Pacific 89-70 Monday and had a season-high five different Cougars score in double figures. The Cougars have won six of their last seven since a rough start to the season improving their record to 6-5.
Justin Hemsley led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds while
McKelary Robertson led the bench in scoring with 18 points. A trio of other Cougars were in double figures tonight as
Ben Avera had a season-high 14 points and seven rebounds,
Ken West had 16 and
Nate Kleppe had 10 points and six boards.
How it Happened: Tied at 10-apiece five minutes into the first half, Azusa Pacific went on an 11-2 run that saw Robertson assist to Avera for an easy layup before knocking down a pair of triples to extend the lead to 18-10. Then, West capped off the run with a three of his own increasing the advantage to nine.
Up 39-33 just before the half, the Cougars 11-4 run was sparked by a West three-pointer and a Hemsley steal that led to a dunk at the other end. Another triple from Hemsley on the next possession before Avera once again capped off the run in style with his second three-pointer of the half to make it 50-37, the largest lead of the first half.
Turning Point: In the second period, Azusa Pacific fine tuned its defense forcing a pair of turnovers that led to monster transition slams to open the half. West provided the first steal before his frontcourt pass set up an easy two-handed slam for
Allan McBride to make it 54-44. Before just a minute later
Hayden Gray's steal led to another throw down, this time West was the one who rattled the rim for two.
The momentum continued for the Cougars as they would rip off a 16-2 run over the next nine minutes. Throughout the run, Azusa Pacific converted six free throws and Avera knocked down another pair of three-pointers to put himself in double digits.
Kleppe and the Cougars took the ball to the hole much more in the second period, evidence being the eight free throws Kleppe knocked down in the second half to keep his team out in front by over 20. Hemsley once again delivered the knockout blow with a fastbreak lay-in with an assist from Gray, who had a season-high seven assists, that put Azusa Pacific up by its largest lead of the game, 83-57. They would go onto win 89-70.
By the Numbers: The Cougars had a season-high 20 assists in the game and scored a season-high 89 points. They also grabbed a season-high 42 rebounds which saw three different players have a season-high seven boards each (Hemsley, Avera,
Sasha French). The Cougars forced 14 turnovers and committed just half of that in the game and dominated second chance points (16-2). Azusa Pacific allowed just 29 points in the second half and held its opponent to just 38.7% from the field in the second half. Once again the bench was a bright spot recording 36 points for the second time in the last three games.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific won't play until the New Year when they travel to Northern California to kick-off its first PacWest road trip. The Cougars will take on Dominican on Saturday, January 1, 2022 with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 p.m before they face Academy of Art on Monday, January 3rd at 3:30 p.m.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW: Vince Fier & Ben Avera
