LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Azusa Pacific's men's basketball team took their fans on a wild ride the past few weeks, culminating in a trip to the West Region finals where they fell to Cal State San Bernardino by a 74-67 final Monday evening at Cal State Los Angeles.
How It Happened: The Cougars scored the first two baskets of the evening and held a second lead at 8-6 about four and a half minutes in. Unfortunately, that's when San Bernardino asserted its will, reminding everyone why they were the regular season CCAA champions, going on a 20-4 run that spanned nearly eight minutes and put the eighth-seeded Cougars on the back foot. The Yotes–who shot 55% in the first half, including 7-14 from beyond the three-point line–would lead by as many as 16 in the first half, and would hold that margin three times before a late 9-2 Cougar run cut the deficit to 39-30 at the half.
The second half saw the Cougars trying to make a run several times early on, but the Yotes continued to have an answer every time. When San Bernardino took a 60-46 lead with 8:50 to play, one could forgive the Yotes' fans for perhaps celebrating a little prematurely. But, having made an incredible comeback just to get to this point after starting the season 1-8, Azusa Pacific was determined to not go down without a fight. The run started with a conventional three-point play by
Ethan Speaker.
Ken West and
Kaleb Taylor each came up with a pair of baskets in the paint. And when
Bryce Sloan drove into the paint and made a layup with 3:50 remaining, the Cougars had pulled within a single basket at 63-61. Sadly, that was where the run ended, as the Yotes scored the next seven points of the game to pull away and claim their second consecutive West Region title.
By the Numbers: George Reidy was the leading scorer for the Cougars in the contest, finishing with 18 points and 7 rebounds, earning a spot on the all-Tournament team. He was joined on the all-Tournament squad by West, who had 13. Speaker also scored 13 points, while Sloan finished with 11. Between them, West, Reidy, and Sloan played all but four out of a possible 360 minutes of the regional. The Cougars shot 46.4% from the field for the game, but were outdone by the Yotes' 50.9%. All-time, the Cougars are 8-4 against Cal State San Bernardino, 2-2 in the NCAA era.
This concludes the 2023-24 season for Azusa Pacific with a record of 16-17, a roller coaster of a year that saw the team start 1-8, then bounce back to make a run from the #6 seed to claim their first-ever PacWest Tournament title, then advance from the #8 seed all the way to the regional final. The memories
Ken West,
Bryce Sloan,
George Reidy,
Allan McBride, and
Nate Kleppe provided in the month of March will make for a memorable chapter in Cougar lore. Now it is up to
Ethan Speaker,
Kaleb Taylor,
Trevan Martin, and the other returning players to write new ones going forward into 2024-25.
AZUSA PACIFIC POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE: PETER BOND, KEN WEST, ALLAN MCBRIDE, NATE KLEPPE | 2024 WEST REGION FINAL
