AZUSA, Calif. –  Before a raucous home crowd in the Felix Event Center, Azusa Pacific put together a dominant second half en route to an 87-69 victory over Biola on Wednesday night.  Five different Cougars scored in double figures in the victory.

How It Happened:  The game was back and forth for most of the first half as the two rivals traded blows, neither leading by more than six at any point in the opening 20 minutes.  With just under five minutes remaining in the first half, Biola had trimmed the deficit to a single point at 30-29.  But the Cougars were able to clamp down on the defensive end down the stretch of the half, allowing Biola to make just one of their last nine attempts in that span, while converting three baskets of their own.  McKelary Robertson was able to knock down a three from the left wing just before halftime to stretch the lead to six at intermission at 38-32.

The Cougars came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders in the second half, opening the half with a 17-6 outburst that got the lead into double figures, where it would remain for the rest of the evening.  Robertson would add in seven points in just four minutes in his first shift of the second half, and the run the Cougars were on which spanned the halftime break would eventually reach 48-20, turning a one-point advantage into a 78-49 lead with nine minutes to play, allowing the team to coast in for their fourth straight victory over Biola going back to last season.

By the Numbers:  Justin Hemsley led the team with 14 points off the bench on the evening.  He was joined in double figures by Robertson (12), Ken West (11), Bryce Sloan (11), and Hayden Gray (10).  Azusa Pacific shot 50% from the field in each half, making 31 shots in all, including 12 threes.  Defensively, the Cougars forced 16 turnovers, which they converted into 25 points.  Hemsley and Robertson helped propel the Cougar bench to a 39-14 advantage over their Eagle counterparts.  Both the turnovers and bench production were no doubt aided by the presence of over 1,300 fans in the Felix Event Center, the largest crowd in the building for a sporting event since 2020.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific (14-6, 9-4 PacWest) continues its four-game homestand on Monday when they host Chaminade at 7:30 p.m. The game can be livestreamed HERE.