NAMPA, Idaho -  Azusa Pacific completed play in the Northwest Nazarene Tournament this afternoon with an 89-79 victory over Central Washington. This win completes a two game sweep up in Idaho for the Cougars as they improve to 5-2 on the season. Five different Cougars earned double digit points in the game, with Hemsley being a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond-the-arc, and Ken West knocking down three three-pointers.

How it Happened: To start the game, the Cougars and Wildcats were trading baskets, being tied at 5 a-piece early. A good layup followed by one knocked down from beyond-the-arc by West gave Azusa Pacific a 10-7 lead. The Cougars then jumped out to a 26-12 lead, before Central Washington went on an eight point run to close the gap at 26-20. The Cougars then went on a 10 point run themselves to increase their lead 36-20. Two layups by Nate Kleppe and Allan McBride along with Sloan going 2-for-2 on the charity stripe at the end of the half helped Azusa Pacific to a 20 point lead heading into the half with the score at 48-28.

The Cougars continued their dominant pace in the second half, with Hemsley knocking down another three-pointer for the Cougars to take a 58-21 lead. Azusa Pacific found themselves up by 24 points with 14:57 remaining in the game, and a layup by McKelary Robertson followed by one from beyond-the-arc from Trevan Martin kept Azusa Pacific's substantial lead as the clock continued to run down. Central Washington began to narrow the Cougars lead towards the end of the game, but Kleppe going 2-for-2 at the free throw line, along with a good jumper by Robertson kept Azusa Pacific at a 16 point advantage. The Wildcats came within eight points from the Cougars with 23 seconds remaining in the game, but the lead the Cougars built throughout was enough to claim a 89-79 victory.

By the Numbers: Azusa Pacific ended the night shooting 47.5% from the field and team-high's of 47.8% from beyond-the-arc, and 91.7% from the charity stripe. West completed 5-for-7 from the field, along with Gray shooting 4-for-8 and Hemsley being 5-for-9 from the field. Sloan was also a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. The Cougars converted 19 points off turnovers, totaling 10 steals on the night with Gray, Martin and Sloan each having two. 

Up Next: The Cougars will open PacWest play next week on the road, facing Holy Names on Thursday, Dec. 1 and Fresno Pacific on Dec 3rd.