LA MIRADA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific's men's basketball team made it two-for-two against their archrivals, holding off a late-charging Biola side for a 75-64 victory Saturday night inside Chase Gymnasium. Bryce Sloan led the way with 17 points for the visiting Cougars, who have now won four straight against Biola over the past two seasons.
How It Happened: Azusa Pacific never trailed in the contest, opening the game with a 12-4 run over the first three and a half minutes, punctuated by a pair of three balls from Ken West. West would make a third triple to answer a Biola long ball, then hit another after the two sides traded six consecutive defensive stops. By the time the game was seven minutes old, the junior forward had 12 points and the Cougars had their first double-digit lead of the night at 18-8. West would cap the run with his fifth and final three-point shot of the contest just past the halfway mark of the first period, making the score 23-8. The teams would continue to trade baskets for the next few minutes, but a 12-2 run by the Cougars over the final 5:30 of the half would give Azusa Pacific their largest lead of the night, going into intermission with a 40-19 advantage.
If there is one thing every fan on either side of the Azusa Pacific-Biola rivalry knows, it is that no lead is ever safe. To be sure, the Eagles came out looking to respond, and they would open the second half with a 15-4 run to cut the deficit to 10 points. But the Cougar guards would settle things down, with McKelary Robertson and Trevan Martin each putting four points on the board along with a Sloan jumper as part of a 10-3 run to give Azusa Pacific breathing room. A Hayden Gray triple brought the lead back to 20 midway through the half. Biola's defense stiffened, holding the Cougars without a point for over six minutes and cutting the deficit in half, but Justin Hemsley would end that run with a three-ball of his own, and over the final 90 seconds the Cougars would salt the game away by knocking down 10 out of 14 free throws.
By the Numbers: Sloan led four Cougars in double figures with 17 points. West finished with 16 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. Hemsley had 13 points, while Robertson had 10 off the bench. The Cougars only made 23 field goals in the contest, but 12 of them were from beyond the arc. Ball control was critical to the contest as the Cougars forced 16 turnovers–which they converted into 22 points–while committing just 8. A natural consequence of that was getting out in transition, as the Cougars scored 23 points via a fastbreak.
Up Next: The Cougars (18-6, 13-4 PacWest) return home for their final two home games of the season. Up first is a critical matchup against Hawai'i-Hilo (15-5, 11-4) that could determine which of the two gets the second seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. That contest will take place on Thursday night in the Felix Event Center at 7:30 p.m., and can be livestreamed HERE.
