AZUSA, Calif. - Azusa Pacific ended the evening with an 87-82 victory over Academy of Art who was ranked first in the PacWest standings. Ken West led the offense, scoring 26 points, while Bryce Sloan, Nate Kleppe and Kaleb Taylor all joined him in double digit scoring, as Taylor's 13 points are a career-high for him.
How it Happened: Azusa Pacific jumped out to an early 17-4 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the first half. Academy of Art fought their way back, tying the game at 27 a piece, but the Cougars continued to create separation, leading 36-30 after a three-pointer from Sloan. Both teams traded points for the remaining four and a half minutes as they headed into halftime tied 41-41.
The Cougars found themselves trailing early as the Urban Knights held onto their lead for the majority of the second half. With seven minutes remaining in the game, Ken West knocked one down from beyond-the-arc to give Azusa Pacific its first lead of the half at 70-69.
Turning Point: Another three-pointer by West gave the Cougars a 76-73 lead, followed by a jumper from Sloan to extend the lead to five. Academy of Art came up with a layup to cut the deficit to three, but Sloan came through again with another layup to push the lead back to five (80-75). The Urban Knights fought their way back offensively in the final seconds, coming within two points three times, but a made free throw by Sloan extended the Cougars lead to three and Academy of Art drove down court attempting a layup, but Allan McBride came up with a game clinching block with nine seconds left.
Two more free throws by West helped Azusa Pacific secure an 87-82 victory over Academy of Art in front of a home crowd on Thursday evening.
By the Numbers: Azusa Pacific led the Urban Knights shooting from the field and from beyond-the-arc as the Cougars had a 45.5 FG% (25-for-55) compared to Academy of Art's 42.6% (29-for-68) and 50% (13-for-26) 3PT% compared to 32% (8-for-15) from the Urban Knights. The Cougars collected seven steals, earning 15 points off Academy of Arts turnovers, while the team defensively had 24 rebounds and Taylor had two blocks in the game.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific will be back in action on Saturday, January 3rd when they host Dominican. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and if you cannot attend, you can watch HERE.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW: KALEB TAYLOR & KEN WEST
