AZUSA, Calif - Azusa Pacific men's basketball completed the 78-73 victory over Hawai'i Pacific on senior night tonight. The Cougars final game in the Felix Event Center for the 2022-23 season was an exciting one as it came down to the final 20 seconds to determine the winner. Hayden Gray led the scoring with 18 points while Ken West and Bryce Sloan also joined him in double digit scoring. 

How it Happened: Nate Kleppe opened the scoring for the Cougars with a layup followed by a three-pointer from Gray to go up 5-3. Hawai'i Pacific would come back to tie it at 7-7 and then eventually roll on to take an 18-14 lead. The Cougars tie it back up at 23 apiece with eight minutes remaining in the half, but the Sharks would continue their offensive attack to go up 32-26. The first half would end with Hawai'i Pacific having a 40-33 lead after Azusa Pacific played defense for the better half of the first 20 minutes. 

Azusa Pacific went into the second half pressuring the Sharks with their offensive attack and having a 6-0 run to close the Sharks lead at 40-39. The Cougars would take their first lead of the half off a driving layup by Sloan, and a turnaround jump shot followed by a three-pointer from West would give Azusa Pacific a 51-46 lead. 

Hawai'i Pacific would take a 52-51 lead before Azusa Pacific would jump out in front yet again, but the Cougars found themselves tied with the Sharks at the 8:26 mark and again at the 1:57 mark. 

Turning Point: A foul brought Justin Hemsley to the free throw line and he drained both of them to take a two-point lead. A turnover by the Cougars led the Sharks to tie the game at 73 a piece, but Gray would come through with one from beyond-the-arc assisted by Hemsley to take the lead at 76-73 with 23 seconds remaining. Two free throws from Sloan would end it for Azusa Pacific as they completed the 78-73 victory.

By the Numbers: Azusa Pacific went 12-2 in the Felix Event Center this season and improved their conference record to 15-4 heading into the final regular season match on Saturday. On the court, the Cougars improved their scoring from the first half, shooting 40% from the field in the first half and 47% in the final 20 minutes. The Cougars 3PT% also jumped from 26.67% to 31.25% in the final half of the game. Azusa Pacific also took advantage of points in the paint with 34 while also having led the Sharks in bench points (23) and second chance points (14). 

Hemsley's Final Game in Felix: Hemsley joined the program in 2021 after two seasons in Hawaii and has appeared in 55 games for the Cougars over the past two seasons, making 46 starts and helping the Cougars to 40 wins thus far.  The forward has scored 582 points and grabbed 263 rebounds, with a career-high 29 points this past December in a win at Fresno Pacific.  Justin has made 76 three-point shots at a 39% clip for his Cougar career.  He was a first-team all-PacWest selection during the 2021-22 season, during which he averaged 12.7 points per game.

Up Next: The Cougars will play their final regular season conference game of the year at Concordia on Saturday, February 25th. Tip off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and if you cannot attend the game, you can watch HERE.