SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Azusa Pacific's season came to a close in a 72-71 overtime loss to Alaska Fairbanks in the West Region semifinals Saturday evening at Cal State San Bernardino. Ken West led the team with a career-high 29 points. He was joined in double figures by Justin Hemsley with 12 and Terrence Becvar with 10.
How It Happened: After each team scored five in a row, the Cougars put together a 6-0 run that was sparked by a pair of Gray steals, one of which led to a Nate Kleppe dunk on the fast break, forcing an early timeout from the Nanooks. West knocked down a triple to mark the third different run of at least five consecutive points by the Cougars in the opening ten minutes to put the Cougars up by eight at 22-14, only to see Alaska again answer back, eventually leveling the game at 25-25.
Azusa Pacific would regain the advantage as West made his fourth triple of the half without a miss, putting the Cougars ahead by four at the last media timeout of the half. The Cougars would hold on to a three point lead at intermission, with West making his first seven shots from the field and scoring 22 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Hemsley opened the second half by making his first two long distance attempts, while West continued to work inside. McKelary Robertson got in on the action, knocking down a shot that seemed to come from the far side of I-215, stretching the lead to double digits for the first time on the evening at 46-36, and a Becvar three would push the advantage to 11. But Alaska Fairbanks is no stranger to the madness of March, having had to win four games in four days at the GNAC tournament just to qualify for the regional. The Nanooks responded with a 13-3 run of their own to cut the lead back down to a single point, 52-51. The teams traded three pointers, keeping the margin at one into the final five minutes, and a layup just before the four-minute mark gave Alaska their first lead of the evening.
A large part of how Alaska has made this run is the play of star guard Shadeed Shabaaz. With a minute and a half left, Shabaaz got the ball off a Hemsley miss and raced through the paint for a basket plus a free throw to put the Nanooks ahead by three. After another missed shot by the Cougars, Shabaaz sliced through the defense for another layup to put Alaska up by five. The Cougars proceeded to make four straight free throws, two of which were the result of Shabaaz's fifth foul, while Alaska made three out of four of their own, leaving the Cougars down three with 12 seconds left. Robertson buried a three from 30 feet away with five seconds left to tie the game again, and Alaska's last-second shot to win was waved off by a traveling violation.
In the overtime, the Cougars took the lead early off a Gray three, but Alaska tied the game at 70-70. Gray made one of two free throws, and the Nanooks got a pull-up jumper from Koby Huerta to retake the lead with a minute to play. The teams traded misses, leaving the Cougars with the ball and 18 seconds to try to win the game. Robertson drove from the top of the key, but his attempt was blocked, sending the Nanooks to Monday's regional final.
By the Numbers: West finished the game with 29 points, though only seven came after halftime, he also added seven rebounds and three blocks. Hemsley led the team in rebounds with eight. The Cougars shot just 8-for-24 from the field in the second half. Alaska enjoyed a 42-18 advantage in scoring in the paint, while Azusa Pacific's bench outscored the Nanooks 19-4. Gray had five assists and four steals. Shabaaz ended up with 28 points, seven rebounds and six steals of his own.
The Cougars end the 2021-22 season with a record of 21-10, having won their first NCAA tournament game since 2018.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW: Terrence Becvar, head coach Peter Bond, and Ben Avera
