NAMPA, Idaho - Azusa Pacific opened play at the Northwest Nazarene tournament with a thrilling victory that came down to the final second to secure the win. With one minute left in the game, George Reidy knocked down a game-winning three-pointer to help the Cougars secure a 65-64 victory over Northwest Nazarene. Bryce Sloan led the Cougars in points with 14, and Hayden Gray and Reidy joined Sloan in double digit points. This is Azusa Pacific's fourth victory over the Nighthawks and the Cougars lead the series 2-1 on Northwest Nazarene's home court. 

How it Happened - The Nighthawks got the scoring going early, opening the game on a 5-0 run before the Cougars could find their footing on the hardwood. It was Justin Hemsley who found two back-to-back field goals to get the Cougars on the board, then a layup and good free throw by Reidy cut into Northwest Nazarene's lead. Down 5-10, Reidy was good from beyond-the-arc to narrow the deficit to 8-10. The Cougars found themselves all tied up at 13 a-piece with 9:47 left in the first half due to a good three-pointer by Hayden Gray. 

Azusa Pacific found their first lead of the game by way of a turnover in the paint and a layup by Trevan Martin to go up 17-15. It was Sloan who increased the Cougars lead at 20-17 after knocking one down from beyond-the-arc. Azusa Pacific and Northwest Nazarene found themselves all tied up again at 22 a-piece with 4:34 left in the first half, but a good three-pointer from the Nighthawks gave them a late lead once again. The Cougars continued to battle and tied it up again at 25-25, and with 25 seconds left in the opening half, McKelary Robertson finished a good jumper to keep the game tied at 27 to head into the second half. 

Azusa Pacific opened the second half strong, with Gray knocking down two in the paint to help the Cougars to a 31-27 lead. The Cougars held their lead for a majority of the half before the Nighthawks tied it at 34 a-piece. A layup by Ken West kept Azusa Pacific in the driver's seat and a three-pointer followed by a layup from Sloan continued the Cougars narrow lead at 43-40. The two teams found themselves all tied up again at 45 before the Cougars fell behind 49-56 with 6:45 left in the game. 

Turning Point: Down 49-56, the Cougars battled back as Kaleb Taylor took advantage of a second chance in the paint and came up with a layup to cut the deficit to 51-56. Three consecutive free throws from Sloan and Nate Kleppe then put Azusa Pacific within two before the Nighthawks came up with two free throws to advance the score to 58-54. Gray put the Cougars within one after knocking down one from beyond-the-arc, and it was a made field goal by Sloan to tie the game at 59. With 2:55 left in the game, West came up with a huge three-pointer to give Azusa Pacific a 62-59 advantage. The Nighthawks pressured as the Cougars found themselves trailing 62-64, but it was Reidy, the former Nighthawk who knocked down his second three-pointer of the game to close the door. A final effort by Northwest Nazarene was matched with great defense by Azusa Pacific as the Nighthawks layup spun off the rim in the final seconds for the Cougars to secure the 65-64 victory on the road. 

By the Numbers: Three different Cougars collected double digit points, while West put up nine. Reidy knocked down 2-for-4 from beyond the arc and Sloan was 4-for-7 from the charity stripe. Azusa Pacific had 26 points in the paint compared to the Nighthawks 16, while the Cougars also had a field goal percentage of 46% compared to Northwest Nazarene's 35.8%.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will continue play in the Northwest Nazarene tournament tomorrow against Central Washington. Tip off is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. (MT) | 1:15 p.m. (PT). You can watch the game live HERE.