FRESNO, Calif. — For the second time this season, Azusa Pacific men's basketball found themselves one win away from a PacWest Championship, this time knowing a win would seal an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Tournament. But, the Cougars will now be forced to wait until tomorrow's selection show to find out their fate after losing a hard fought battle 73-70 to Academy of Art in the conference title game Saturday.

Azusa Pacific received the No. 8 seed (last spot in) in last week's NCAA DII West Regional Rankings and had an impressive run to the conference championship game that could be enough to grab an at-large bid when the NCAA DII Tournament Bracket is revealed on Sunday evening (7:30 p.m.).

"The unknown doesn't mean we're not completely proud of these guys and proud of what they've done (this season)," an emotional head coach Peter Bond said following the loss. "And I'm so pleased and thankful to say that. They've been a joy to coach, they are a joy to coach, and I can't wait to continue doing it with them."

Justin Hemsley and Ken West, both of whom were named to the All-PacWest Tournament team, led the way for the Cougars as each recorded 14 points. Terrence Becvar chipped in 12 points and a team-high three assists off the bench while Nate Kleppe had 11 points and was 3-of-4 from long range.

How it Happened: The Cougars opened the game and took a 7-2 lead in the early going but the Urban Knights would rip off 13 unanswered points to take a 15-7 lead just over eight minutes into the game.

Terrence Becvar came in off the bench and turn the tide back in the Cougars' favor. The senior guard knocked down two triples on back-to-back possessions to get Azusa Pacific back within two before his steal just seconds later would lead to a Justin Hemsley layup on the other end to tie the game at 15-all. Academy of Art would get a basket before Becvar found Nate Kleppe from a long distance on two consecutive offensive possessions to put Azusa Pacific ahead 21-17.

The two teams would go back and forth the remainder of the first half as the Urban Knights outscored the Cougars down the stretch to take a 35-32 lead into halftime. Azusa Pacific shot just 30% from the field and 33% from downtown in the opening half.

After trailing by six twice early in the half, the Cougars got back in it with an 8-0 run to retake the lead. Ken West drilled a three to start the run before Becvar free throws got the game within one, 40-39. On the next Azusa Pacific offensive possession, Sasha French completed an and-one to give the Cougars their first lead of the second half, 42-40.

Turning Point: The Urban Knights would go on another run in the second half, this time grabbing full control of the game. Trailing 44-42 with 12 minutes left in the game, Academy of Art's 13-2 run over the next four minutes would help them to a nine-point advantage, 55-46.

The Cougars fought their way back into the game as neither team made it easy on the other to score. Kleppe drilled another big triple to cut the deficit to six with under eight minutes left. 

Back-to-back triples for the Urban Knights kept them out in front by nine however as Azusa Pacific was running out of time down 60-51 with 4:42 to play. Another 8-0 run for the Cougars saw them trim the lead to one once again as six of the eight came from the charity stripe.

Leading 60-59 with just over two minutes left in the game, Academy of Art got a pair of layups to fall and stopped Azusa Pacific twice taking a 65-59 lead with just 36 seconds left. The Urban Knights were then called for a foul call which Denny Slay didn't like resulting in a technical foul for the Cougars.

McKelary Robertson, who drew the original foul, drilled 3-of-4 from the free throw line to get Azusa Pacific back within one possession, 65-62. But, the Urban Knights were clutch from the line the rest of the way knocking down eight consecutive to close out the game. Hemsley and Robertson each hit triples but the Cougars ran out of time falling 73-70.

By the Numbers: The Cougars were held to a season low 30.6% from the floor (19-for-62) and tallied 22 of their 70 points from the free-throw line. The Urban Knights dominated inside with 36 points in the paint compared to just 16 for Azusa Pacific and they also got out on the fastbreak tallying 18 points in transition (just five for the Cougars). Both teams had over 16 offensive rebounds in the game, as the Cougars tied a season-high 18 in the game.

Up Next: The Cougars will wait patiently for tomorrow's selection show to find out the eight teams selected to the NCAA DII West Regional. Three automatic qualifier bids will be punched (PacWest, CCAA, and GNAC conference champs), while the remaining five spots will hold at-large bids. To watch the show which begins at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 6th, visit this link.


POSTGAME INTERVIEW: Ben Avera, head coach Peter Bond, and Terrence Becvar