LA MIRADA, Calif. – In the second Cornerstone Cup rivalry game of the season, Azusa Pacific fell 70-66 against Biola on Saturday night. Fresh off a big win against Westmont earlier in the week, the Cougars came into the game eager to seek revenge after the last-second shot that handed them the loss when these two teams faced off just a few weeks ago. However, the Cougars struggled to find big defensive stops at the end of the first half which led to them playing catch-up during the second half. With tonight's loss, Azusa Pacific moves to 9-15 overall including an 8-9 PacWest record with three games remaining in the regular season.
Ken West led the game with 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Ethan Speaker added 16 points as George Reidy had 11 and Trevan Martin contributed a career-high 10 points to round out double-digit scoring for the Cougars.
How It Happened: Both teams remained scoreless in the first four minutes of the game, then the Cougars got off to a hot start. Speaker knocked down a three-pointer to kick off the scoring run followed by another three-pointer from Reidy and back-to-back scores from Speaker and Michael Saba to allow the Cougars to jump to an early 10-0 lead.
Finally, seven minutes into the game, the Eagles got their first points on the board knocking down two free throws. However, the Cougars kept the momentum rolling as Saba scored the team's third triple of the game to extend their lead to 13-2.
Slowly but surely, the Eagles started to creep their way back and break down that deficit of theirs as Nathan Medina scored seven of the team's first 11 points. The Cougars maintained their lead and were up 29-18 with 4:50 left in the first half.
The Eagles, however, went on a 13-point scoring run while holding Azusa Pacific scoreless for the remainder of the half to flip the script and enter the locker room with a two-point lead.
Coming out of halftime, both teams exchanged layups before the Eagles went on to outscore the Cougars 11-1 over the first five minutes.
Down 44-32 now, Azusa Pacific looked for any chances to cut their deficit. Speaker and Reidy would both score however, Biola responded with two scores of their own. Then, with 12:33 left in the game, Martin scored a jump shot followed by another triple from Saba to make it a seven-point game.
Biola countered with four points of their own but the Cougars were able to string together eight points to bring the game back within reach at 49-52.
Still playing from behind the Cougars continued to fight for the remainder of the game. With less than four minutes to go, things got interesting as Ken West knocked down four free throws in a row making the score 57-61 however, it was responded to with a three-pointer from Biola's Maximo Milovich.
Over the next few minutes, West and Speaker pieced together the Cougars' last 11 points of the game but it was not enough as Biola held onto their lead and finished with the 70-66 win.
By the Numbers: Although both teams had the same number of attempts, the Eagles shot 26-for-55 (47.3%) while the Cougars were just 22-for-55 (40%) from the field goal range. Biola also dominated in the paint outscoring Azusa Pacific 38-20 from within the key. Additionally, both times shot 72% from the free-throw line as the Cougars were 16-for-22 on the night and the Eagles were 13-for-18. When it came to rebounding, Azusa Pacific had 36 compared to Biola's 21 boards.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific will host two home games this upcoming week with the first against Hawaii Pacific on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Then on Saturday, the team will host Concordia for Senior Night on Homecoming weekend with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
