FRESNO, Calif. — The No. 2 seeded Azusa Pacific men's basketball team defeated Hawai'i Hilo in the opening round of the PacWest Tournament by a final score of 87-72. The Cougars took advantage of five and-one opportunities in the second half, defeating the Vulcans for the third time this season.

Ken West led all scorers with 21 points to go along with six rebounds while Nate Kleppe recorded his second double-double of the season tallying 11 points and 12 rebounds. Hayden Gray chipped in 15 points and three steals while Ben Avera knocked down a trio of triples in the second half as he had 11 points off the bench.

How it Happened: Azusa Pacific tallied five three-pointers in the game's first 10 minutes to take an early 19-16 lead. West and Trevon Ary-Turner each hit a pair of triples as McKelary Robertson nailed the other as the lead changed four times early on.

Tied at 19-apiece, West's nice cut to the basket resulted in a layup to give the Cougars a two-point lead before Gray's steal and coast-to-coast layin brought the lead to 23-19. Justin Hemsley recorded his first bucket of the game with a tough fadeaway a minute later to make 25-21. Five consecutive free throws for the Cougars would bring the lead to nine points before a Terrence Becvar triple would cap off the 10-0 run making it 33-21.

Under-five minutes to go in the first half, the Vulcans would battle back with a five-nothing run of their own to cut the deficit to seven points. The two teams would trade baskets down the stretch of the first half as Azusa Pacific would take a 42-34 lead into the break. 

Turning Point: Out of the half, West scored five of the Cougars' seven points including an and-one layup that brought the lead to 12. Gray recorded his third steal of the game before his layup plus the foul made it 52-37 in favor of Azusa Pacific. 

The Cougars kept their lead intact later in the half as Avera caught fire from beyond the arc. Avera drilled a trio of three-pointers to get himself in double-figures for the game as his last one gave Azusa Pacific a 65-51 lead with 11 minutes left to play.

Hawai'i Hilo got back within nine, 69-60 which forced the Cougars to call a timeout and regroup. Out of the timeout, West hammered home an emphatic two-handed slam and was fouled in the act, upping his point tally to 19 in the game. Becvar recorded a steal setting up Robertson who converted another and-one for Azusa Pacific on the next possession putting the Cougars up 74-60. Kleppe would cap this one off in style with a two-hand slam plus the foul of his own to record the Cougars' fifth and-one opportunity of the second half giving them a 12-point advantage under three minutes to go. Azusa Pacific would go on to win 87-72.

By the Numbers: The Cougars won the battle of the boards by a wide margin (43-25) and dominated second-chance points (14-0). Seven of the 11 three-pointers the Cougars knocked down came in the first-half as they shot 35.5% (11-for-31) from downtown in the game. Once again the Cougars' depth showed up as they doubled Hawai'i Hilo in bench points (33-16).

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will face Biola on Friday, March 4th in the semi-finals of the PacWest Tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in Fresno, Calif. For more information regarding tickets click here, to watch the game visit this link, or follow along with live stats here.