AZUSA, Calif. – It took the entire first half for the Cougars' offense to get going Thursday evening, but once it did, they stormed ahead and never looked back, earning a crucial 77-64 victory over Hawai'i Hilo on the Felix Event Center floor and taking a big step towards locking down second place in the PacWest. Bryce Sloan and Hayden Gray tied for the team lead with 19 points in the victory.
How It Happened: It was a very defensive-minded contest in the first half, with both teams holding their opponent well under 40% shooting over the opening 20 minutes. The Vulcans, who had held the Cougars to their lowest scoring output of the season exactly one month ago, maintained a small advantage for most of the first half. The visitors forced eight turnovers in the first half, including four in a span of just five possessions late in the half to earn their largest lead of the evening at 30-25. Hayden Gray would knock down a three to cut the lead to two points at halftime.
That three proved to be the start of a 12-2 run, as coming out of the break, Nate Kleppe made a three of his own while being fouled, converting the free throw for the rare four-point play and giving the Cougars a lead which they would never relinquish. The Vulcans would cut the lead to one, only to see Azusa Pacific make consecutive three-pointers to keep the visitors at arm's length. When Hawai'i Hilo closed the deficit to five points again at 48-43, Trevan Martin tipped in his own miss to kickstart a 14-4 run that gave the Cougars their largest lead of the night at 62-47 with 7:22 to play. Azusa Pacific would match that advantage several times down the stretch, as they ultimately scored their final 11 points of the contest at the free throw line to seal the victory.
By the Numbers: Sloan had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Joining him in double figures were Gray with 19 points; Justin Hemsley with 12 points and 9 rebounds; and Ken West with 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Punishing mistakes proved vital, as the Cougars scored 17 points off 12 Vulcan turnovers, while the 11 turnovers the home side committed resulted in only 5 points on the Hilo side of the scoreboard. The Cougars won the rebounding battle 48-36, with Martin putting together a 7-point, 7-rebound effort off the bench. Kaleb Taylor did not score, but affected the game defensively with 4 blocked shots.
Playoff Implications: The win gives the Cougars a season split with the Vulcans, and leaves them in sole possession of second place in the PacWest with two games remaining. The second-place team will earn a bye directly to the semifinals of the PacWest Tournament in Honolulu in two weeks' time. The first set of regional rankings were released this week and Azusa Pacific is one of five PacWest teams included in the 10-team list, alongside Point Loma, Hawai'i Hilo, Academy of Art, and Biola. All told, the Cougars are 6-3 this season against the other nine West Region schools listed.
Up Next: Winners of seven straight, Azusa Pacific (19-6, 14-4 PacWest) will play their final home game of the season on Monday night against Hawai'i Pacific. The team will honor senior forward Justin Hemsley at the game, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. and can be livestreamed HERE.
