FRESNO, Calif. — With its third win this season over Biola, Azusa Pacific advances to the PacWest Tournament Championship after cruising to a 75-54 win. Sasha French's season-high 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench helped the Cougars advance to the conference final for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

McKelary Robertson also tallied 14 points off the bench while Terrence Becvar stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, and five assists. Justin Hemsley chipped in 13 points and six boards as well on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. With the win, head coach Peter Bond secured his second 20-win season.

How it Happened: Ken West and Hemsley scored the first nine points of the game for the Cougars to give them a 9-5 lead. Then with a 12-10 lead, French scored eight straight points for the Cougars to help Azusa Pacific take a 20-13 advantage forcing a Biola timeout.

Turning Point: After an 8-0 run by the Eagles gave them their first lead of the game, Azusa Pacific responded with an eight-nothing run of its own to garner the lead back in which they wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the game. Nate Kleppe kicked off the run with an and-one layup on the offensive glass before French found Terrence Becvar who nailed a three giving the Cougars a 26-21 advantage. Another French layin assisted by Becvar, who had a team-high five assists, upped the ante to a seven-point advantage. 

Robertson drilled his second and third triples of the first half in back-to-back possessions before French upped his point tally to 12 with a reverse layup to give Azusa Pacific its largest lead of the first half, 36-25. French was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field in the half as the Cougars took a 36-30 lead into the break.

Out of halftime, Hemsley got his mid-range going with back-to-back jumpers to make it 40-32. Allan McBride's steal on the next possession led to a tough Hayden Gray layup before West tallied a block which resulted in a McBride three at the other end giving the Cougars a 45-32 lead.

With the lead down to 10, French continued his perfect start from the floor with another layup upping his point total to 14 to make it 51-39 in favor of the Cougars. West's deep three in between a pair of tough mid-range jumpers for Hemsley upped the Cougars' advantage to 15 at the midway point of the second half.

Robertson's five-nothing run later in the half increased the lead to 65-46 for the Cougars before Becvar's second triple gave Azusa Pacific a 20-point lead with two minutes to play. That was the nail in the coffin as the Cougars defeated Biola for the third time this season by a final score of 75-54.

By the Numbers: French finished the game recording a career-high seven made field goals as he was 7-for-8 (87.5%) from the field. Azusa Pacific held Biola to under 20% from beyond the arc for the second time this season as they were just 4-of-21 (19%) from long range. The Cougars tallied their third-highest points off the bench with 42, their second-highest was 43 against Biola in the last meeting between the two. 

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will now face No. 4 Academy of Art in the PacWest Tournament Championship tomorrow, Saturday, March 5th with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m. For more information regarding tickets click here, to watch the game visit this link, or follow along with live stats here.

POSTGAME INTERVIEW: Justin Hemsley, head coach Peter Bond, and Sasha French