SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Azusa Pacific picks up an 80-79 win in its non-conference game against Cal State San Bernardino behind Charlie Gehler's 26-point performance. 

Gehler, a recent transfer from San Diego Miramar College, shot 11-for-19 from the field, including three three-pointers, and added four assists to help the Cougars secure the victory. Coming into the game, Gehler was averaging 4.9 points per game, mostly in a reserve role earlier in the season.

Although Gehler delivered a career-best performance, it was Maui Sze who scored the game-winning layup with under eight seconds left, improving the Cougars' record to 5-6.

How it Happened: The Cougars faced an early deficit, trailing as much as 23-9 midway through the first half. However, Gehler sparked an 11-0 run with back-to-back scores, cutting the Coyotes' lead to just 23-20.

Cal State San Bernardino later regained momentum, hitting consecutive three-pointers to extend their lead to 37-29 with four minutes remaining in the half.

Azusa Pacific responded with an 11-4 run. Trevan Martin scored a layup in the last seven seconds as the Cougars trailed by just one point heading into halftime.

After the Coyotes scored the first basket of the second half, Michael Saba's three-pointer tied the game at 45-45. Both teams exchanged leads throughout the final 20 minutes, with neither gaining a lead larger than four points.

After a layup by Ethan Speaker put the Cougars within one with 2:03 left, Sze made a driving layup to give Azusa Pacific a 78-77 lead. The Coyotes answered with two free throws in the final thirty seconds, regaining the lead, but not for long.

With less than eight seconds remaining, Sze drove to the basket again, scoring the game-winning layup for the Cougars and securing the victory.

By the Numbers: Azusa Pacific shot 33-for-62 (.532) from the field, their second-best shooting performance of the season. Including Gehler, the Cougars had four players with double-digit scoring including Michael Saba (12), 
Deen Abdur-Rahmann (12), and Ethan Speaker (11). The Cougars bench outscored the Coyotes' 48-10. After struggling with turnovers the last few games, the Cougars had just 11 turnovers while forcing the Coyotes to commit 19 turnovers, including nine in the second half.

Up Next: After three weeks, Azusa Pacific finally returns to its home court for a non-conference game against Nobel on Dec. 20. Tip-off is set for 6:00pm following to women's game in the Felix Event Center.