AZUSA, Calif. – The Cougars' basketball season came to an end Saturday evening at the Felix Event Center, falling 91-79 to Point Loma in the finale.  Brennan Rymer led five Cougars in double figures with 14 points.  Ken West had 12, while off the bench Terrence Becvar and Allen McBride each had a dozen and Bryce Sloan added in 11.

How It Happened:  The Cougars hit two early three-pointers to take the lead at 8-6 before Point Loma pulled away in the middle of the first half.  Once the Sea Lions had the advantage, they never looked back, leading by as many as 22 in the first half.  Kaden Anderson would be the dominant force inside for the Sea Lions, leading all scorers with 37 in the game.  Point Loma would knock down nine of their first 15 three-point shots in the first half, and while the Cougars would narrow the gap before halftime, were unable to climb within single digits over the final 28 minutes of the game.

Turning Point:  The game was decided by a run midway through the first half.  The Cougars had gotten within six points at 20-14 when Point Loma uncorked a decisive 19-3 blitz that included 11 points by Anderson and turned a close game into a 39-17 advantage for the Sea Lions at the six-minute mark, and the visitors would have an answer for every attempt by the Cougars to claw their way back into the game the rest of the way.

By the Numbers:  Four of Point Loma's starters reached double figures, which was more than enough to counter the 47 points the Cougar bench produced on the evening.  McBride had a team high seven rebounds to go with his career high in points, while Becvar was making hustle plays everywhere in the second half to try to close the gap, finishing with six rebounds and two steals, helping Azusa Pacific win the rebounding battle, 38-33.  The Cougars were able to convert nine Point Loma turnovers into 15 points, but turned the ball over 17 times themselves, while the Sea Lions shot just over 50 percent from the field and made 13 three-point shots.

With the result of today's game, the Cougars finish the abbreviated 2021 campaign with a record of 5-7, and 4-6 in the PacWest Southern California pod.