HONOLULU, Hawaii– The Azusa Pacific Men's Basketball team extended their overall record to 12-6 overall and 9-2 in conference after a close 58-54 win over Hawaii Pacific.

Hayden Gray had a game-high of 12 points, shooting 5-for-9 (56%) from the field including a triple, grabbed 2 rebounds, and gave out 3 assists. Justin Hemsley followed behind with 11 points, a team-high 6 rebounds, and a block. Ken West rounded out the double-digit club with 10 points, 5 rebounds, a steal, and an assist. 

How it Happened: After winning the tip, Nate Kleppe shot a 2-point-jumper to score the first points of the game within the first 30 seconds. The Sharks answer with a triple to take the lead then both teams go into a scoring drought until the 16:40 mark. Hawaii Pacific shot another three and Hemsley responded with one of his own to make the score 5-6.

Following this, Azusa Pacific caught fire shooting the next 15 of their points from the three point line between Terrence Becvar, Gray, Ben Avera (2), and another from Hemsley. West and Gray scored back to back layups to extend the team's lead to 24-13. Avera scores his third triple of the game to give the team a 13 point lead.

The Sharks make a small comeback which is shut down by another three pointer from Trevon Ary-Turner which is the last time the Cougars would score in the first half to make the game 33-25. 

Hawaii Pacific started off the second half with a layup followed directly by a dunk from Kleppe. Gray had a floating layup to make the score 37-27. Both teams went into another scoring drought until Gray had another layup with 16:46 left in the game. 

The Sharks got into a groove again as Gray attempted to break their comeback with a layup to make the score 41-31. They continued to chip away at the Cougars lead until Hemsley scored the only three pointer of the second half to make the score 44-36. 

After a triple, jump shot, and layup, the Sharks found themselves only down by one with 7 more minutes left of the half. West scored a layup off a defensive rebound followed by another layup from McBride to put the team up by five.

The Sharks were able to get it back within one and Kleppe responded with another dunk to make the score 52-49 with 2:33 left of the half. 

The Sharks foul West, who shoots 81% from the charity stripe this season, as he makes a three pointer attempt. He makes all three to put the team up by 6. Hawaii Pacific quickly turns around to score a layup and three pointer within 30 seconds of each other to cut their deficit to one point. 

Becvar was able to make both free throws after the Sharks were forced to foul and slow down the clock followed by another free throw from Gray to end the game 58-54. 

By the Numbers: The Cougars shot 21-for-54 (38%) from the field and 9-for-23 (39%) from behind the three point line. Eight of those triples occurred in the first half allowing the team to shoot 43% from the rainbow. 

The team also shot 7-for-10 from the charity stripe and 6-for-9 in the second half alone. 

Azusa Pacific totaled 30 rebounds, 8 fast-break points, and 22 points in the paint. What also helped the Cougars is their ability to score 16 points off Hawaii Pacific's 14 turnovers. 

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will finish out their 3-game series in Hawaii with a contest against Chaminade on Monday, February 7th at 6:30pm (HT) / 8:30pm (PT). Live results and stats can be found here and you can live stream the game here.