AZUSA, Calif. – The Cougars pulled away with a first-half barrage from long range and never looked back in an 80-66 win over Seattle Pacific Friday evening inside the Felix Event Center. Jordan Hansen led the offensive outburst with 22 points in the victory.

How It Happened:  Azusa Pacific actually spotted the visiting Falcons an 8-2 lead in the opening three minutes, but that was quickly erased by the Cougars' red-hot outside shooting. The Cougars made eight of their first nine attempts from beyond the three-point line. Chris Gayles Jr. hit two of the first three to put Azusa Pacific ahead for good. In all, six different Cougars made a three as part of this early onslaught. By the time Tobias Aisien capped it off with his first triple of the evening, the run had stretched to 28-2, giving the home team a commanding 30-10 advantage just past the midway point of the first half.

The Falcons would do a decent job of clawing their way back into the game; and after scoring on their first two possessions of the second half, they were back within eight points at 44-36. But that was as close as they would come the rest of the night.  Kaleb Taylor scored for the home side on their next trip down the floor, getting the lead back to double figures, and seemingly every time the Falcons tried to get any closer than that the rest of the game, Hansen had an answer. The junior transfer scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to keep the Falcons at bay.

By the Numbers:  Behind Hansen's 5-6 performance, the Cougars shot 13-21 from three-point range for the game (61.9%), their best outside shooting performance since a 12-19 night against Concordia in January of 2016. Ethan Speaker (14 points) and Gayles (10) also reached double figures on the evening as 10 of the 11 Cougars to play in the game made at least one field goal. Maui Sze led the team in most of the other counting stats, collecting 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals; while Taylor had 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. The Cougar bench put up 25 points, led by Aisien with 9. Seattle Pacific leads the all-time series 8-5, though the Cougars are now 2-1 at home in Azusa.

Up Next:  Officially above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2022-23 season, Azusa Pacific (2-1) will head back onto the hardwood Saturday evening to take on Western Washington. Tipoff against the Vikings is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Felix Event Center.