AZUSA, Calif. – The Cougars showed real grit in their final home game of 2023, rallying from a nine-point deficit to defeat Point Loma 83-76 inside the Felix Event Center on Tuesday evening. Bryce Sloan scored a career-high 32 points while dishing out 10 assists to lead the comeback effort.
How It Happened: Sloan opened the scoring for the contest with a three-pointer, helping the Cougars jump out to an 16-5 lead over the opening six and a half minutes of the game. The Cougars knocked down five three-pointers as a team in the first half while shooting 50% from the field as they would regain that 11-point edge at 28-17, their largest advantage of the evening. But the Sea Lions would fight back from that point, closing the half on a 19-5 run of their own over the final five minutes to take the lead at intermission, 40-37.
Point Loma would add on to that run with a 9-3 outburst at the start of the second to take their largest lead of the contest at 49-40. But Azusa Pacific would fire back, finding their stroke from beyond the arc, knocking down four triples in a span of five trips down the floor to regain the lead at 54-52. The Sea Lions would tie the game on their next possession, but a Ken West layup would put the home team ahead for good with 11:19 remaining.
After a stop, the teams would combine to score on 11 straight possessions after that, with Sloan kicking off the outburst with a conventional three-point play and scoring nine of the Cougars' 11 points in that sequence.
Turning Point: Coming out of a timeout with 1:50 remaining, the Cougars had the ball and a 76-74 lead. With the shot clock winding down, Sloan dribbled towards the foul line, drawing a double team, and kicked out to the corner to an open George Reidy, who knocked down the long ball, putting the home team up by two possessions. The Cougars were able to get a stop on the following defensive possession, running the clock down under 45 seconds before the Sea Lions were forced to foul. Azusa Pacific made four out of five free throws the rest of the way to ice the victory.
By the Numbers: Sloan has set a new career scoring high each season with the Cougars, scoring 24 in a 2021 game, 26 last year, and now 32 tonight. He was joined in double figures by West (19 points), Reidy (13), and Nate Kleppe (11). Ethan Speaker snagged a team-high 11 rebounds in the contest, while Sloan made it a double-double with 10 assists. The Cougars shot a season-best 50.8% from the field in the contest and made a season-best 11 three-pointers. This was the Cougars' first home win against Point Loma in four years. The Cougars lead the all-time series 83-55.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific (2-8, 1-2 PacWest) will play one final game before the calendar flips to 2024, visiting Concordia on December 30th at 4:30 p.m. Their next home game will take place on January 4th, when the Cougars host Hawai'i Hilo.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW: BRYCE SLOAN & KEN WEST
