SEATTLE, Wash. – The Cougars came through in the clutch to earn their first victory of the season, outlasting Chico State by a final of 81-78 Saturday evening at Seattle Pacific University. Ethan Speaker led the Cougars with 20 points and 9 rebounds, one of four Cougar starters who reached double figures on the day.

How It Happened: The Cougars opened the game strong on both ends, forcing the Wildcats into missing their first five shot attempts and jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes. The teams largely traded punches evenly for the next ten minutes, and Charlie Gehler's triple with 5:48 remaining in the half allowed the Cougars to match that nine-point advantage at 24-15. But Chico State, who won the West Region three years ago and has made the tournament three times in their last four seasons, rattled off 10 unanswered points to take their first lead of the game, and reclaimed the advantage just before halftime at 34-33.

The second half remained tightly contested as the teams went back-and-forth through 7 ties and 13 lead changes. An 11-4 run by the Wildcats gave them their largest lead of the game at the midway point of the second half at 62-56. The Cougars were still down five when Kaleb Taylor had an outstanding sequence in which he grabbed an offensive rebound, drew an intentional foul going for the putback, made a free throw, scored a layup on the ensuing inbounds play, then got a steal on the defensive end. That led to the second triple of the half by Tobias Aisien, giving the Cougars back the lead at 67-66.

Turning Point: With the score tied at 76-all and the clock ticking under a minute to play, the ball found its way to Jordan Hansen in the far corner. Hansen drove the baseline, and when the defense collapsed towards him, he spotted Speaker alone in the near corner by the Cougar bench. The pass bounced once, went into the junior's hands, and he calmly buried the three to put the Cougars ahead for good with 48 seconds remaining. After a Chico State basket, Speaker made two free throws to regain the three-point edge, and the Wildcats' last chance to tie sailed harmlessly off the backboard.

By the Numbers: The Cougars shot 50% from the field, converting 31 field goals in all, including 11 from beyond the arc. Speaker led the way with 20, but joining him in double figures were Hansen (12 points), Taylor (10 points, 5 rebounds), and Maui Sze (11 points, 5 assists).  Speaker, Taylor, and Michael Saba each had a pair of blocked shots. Another key area for Azusa Pacific proved to be making the most of second chances, as the Cougars were able to turn 9 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points, including that unconventional three-point play by Taylor in the second half. The victory snaps a three-game losing skid against the Wildcats, and Azusa Pacific leads the all-time series 6-3.

Up Next: Back to .500 on the season, Azusa Pacific (1-1) will get ready for their home opener on Friday when they host Seattle Pacific.  Tip-off in the Felix Event Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.