BELMONT, Calif. — Fresh off its win over Biola this past Saturday night, Azusa Pacific men's basketball used another second-half comeback to take down Academy of Art by a score of 78-69 Monday afternoon. With the win, the Cougars are another step closer to a PacWest Championship as they sit atop the conference with a 14-3 record and control their own destiny with two games left in the regular season.
Ken West led all scorers with 20 points and added six rebounds, Hayden Gray tallied 16 points and five steals while Justin Hemsley had 14 points of his own. Nate Kleppe recorded five points and nine boards while Terrence Becvar had eight points and three boards off the bench.
How it Happened: The first half was the definition of a back-and-forth battle as the lead changed 12 different times in the opening 20 minutes. The Urban Knights got out to their largest lead of the first half just under 12 minutes left taking a 20-13 lead.
But, the Cougars responded with a 14-2 run to take back the lead. The run began with a pair of Hemsley jumpers to bring the deficit to three before West knocked down a triple to tie it up at 20-apiece. After a pair of free throws from Gray, his steal and breakaway dunk on the next possession put Azusa Pacific ahead 25-22. A Trevon Ary-Turner three-pointer capped off the run in style to increase the Cougars' advantage to six.
Academy of Art would take back the lead over four minutes later before both teams would trade baskets and the lead for the final three minutes of the half. The Urban Knights would score the final basket just before the break taking a 39-38 lead.
It was Academy of Art that jumped out in front in the second half as the Cougars struggled shooting the ball early in the half. With 12:55 left to go in the game, the Urban Knights had their largest lead of the game up 54-46.
Turning Point: The Cougars responded in a big way coming out of the under 12 minute media timeout, unleashing a 19-4 over the next six minutes. It all started on the defensive end as Azusa Pacific forced four Urban Knight turnovers that resulted in a Hemsley lay-in, Gray dunk, and a West triple that made it a one-point game. Trailing 58-53, Kleppe knocked down a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game again before Hemsley's activity on the offensive glass gave him an and-one opportunity which he converted to give Azusa Pacific the 59-58 lead. A lead they wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the game (final eight and a half minutes). The Cougars would cap off the huge second-half run with a pair of Becvar triples that saw the lead grow to seven.
West drilled his third and final three-pointer of the game to up his point tally to 20 on the afternoon which gave Azusa Pacific 72-63 lead with four minutes to go. Before the win was then tied with a bow as Hemsley's transition dunk with 1:33 left in the game punctuated the Cougars' second-half comeback win, 78-69.
By the Numbers: The Cougars' defense held the Urban Knights off the free-throw line as they didn't record a shot from the charity stripe until the 2:01 mark in the second half. Azusa Pacific also dominated with points off turnovers (27-13) as both teams turned the ball over 15 times. The Cougars won the battle of the benches (23 points to 10) and fastbreak points (15-to-2). Azusa Pacific knocked down seven of its nine triples going 7-for-14 (50%) in the opening half while the team's final two came from Becvar to cap off the 19-4 run in the second half. West has scored 20 points in three of the last four games and has been in double figures in scoring in 13 of the last 15 games this season.
Up Next: The Cougars will be back in action on Wednesday, February 23rd as they take on Dominican at 3:00 p.m. in San Rafael, Calif. To watch and follow along with the game's live stats click here.
