AZUSA, Calif. – In a game of runs, Azusa Pacific started sluggish before staging a dramatic comeback, narrowly defeating Fresno Pacific 59-55 on Saturday night. The Cougars have now won four straight to improve to 8-6 overall and 3-3 in Conference play.
One of the key contributors to the Cougars' comeback was
Trevan Martin, who delivered a career-best performance on offense, scoring 16 points—12 of them coming in the second half alone. He also made significant contributions on defense, with a crucial steal and three key rebounds in the final moments.
"He was just the spark tonight," said head coach
Peter Bond about Martin's performance. "He was just the energizer bunny and kept going after them. The motor and effort he's given us has been a massive boost the last couple of games. That's always been him but we've needed that veteran leadership was apparent tonight."
Charlie Gehler, the only other Cougar in double digits, added 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a career-high three steals, continuing his consistent role off the bench, especially in big moments like this one.
How it Happened: Azusa Pacific struggled to find its rhythm in the first half, unable to respond to an early 11-3 scoring run by Fresno Pacific. At one point, the Cougars went scoreless for nearly five minutes. Shooting just 7-for-23 and totaling only 24 points at halftime, they were in need of a spark.
The Sunbirds started the second half with a 32-24 lead and despite back-to-back three-pointers from the Cougars, Fresno Pacific responded with scores of its own, keeping a 39-30 lead.
A minute later, Martin subbed in and working in tandem with Gehler, the duo quickly got to work. Martin sank a free throw, then converted a layup off a pass from Gehler. On the next possession, Martin grabbed an offensive rebound, leading to a three-pointer by Gehler. After a couple of key defensive stops, Martin scored back-to-back layups, tying the game at 42-42 with 12:02 remaining.
From there, both teams traded baskets, including a pivotal triple from Gehler and a steal that turned into a fast-break layup, giving the Cougars their first lead of the game, 49-47, with 7:40 left. However, Fresno Pacific gained back its lead after a steal led to a three-pointer, giving the team a 55-53 advantage.
But while Gehler and Martin certainly stepped up, it was a critical three-pointer from
Maui Sze that gave the Cougars a one-point edge with two minutes left. The Sunbirds had several opportunities to retake the lead, getting multiple offensive rebounds, but Gehler finally secured the last board, which led to a layup from Martin to extend the Cougars' lead to three.
With 14 seconds left, Martin knocked down another freethrow to seal Azusa Pacific's 59-54 comeback win over Fresno Pacific.
Head coach
Peter Bond had this to say about the second-half performance: "Coming out of halftime it was going to be a telling point for us. We didn't play well in the first half, it wasn't the true version that we're used to. But the guys responded really well and did a nice job bouncing back in the controllable areas and improving there. Down the stretch, the guys played to their strengths and leaned on the strengths of each other."
By the Numbers: Both teams struggled from the field, with Azusa Pacific shooting 21-for-49 (42.9%) and Fresno Pacific finishing 20-for-57 (35.1%), including 9-for-31 (29.0%) from beyond the arc. The Cougars' bench, led by Martin and Gehler with a combined 31 points, outscored Fresno Pacific's reserves 42-16. Notably, Martin, who has averaged just 11.8 minutes per game this season, played nearly 30 minutes, while without a sub the entire second half.
Up Next: Riding a four-game win streak, the Cougars now will travel to Hawai'i for their annual trip. Their next game is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 9th, against Hawai'i Pacific at 6:30 p.m. HST (8:30 p.m. PST). They will follow that with a game against Chaminade on Saturday, Jan. 11th, at 2:00 p.m. HST (4:00 p.m. PST).
