AZUSA, Calif. – In an opening-night contest that went down to the wire and then some, the Azusa Pacific Cougars narrowly fell to Cal Poly Pomona, losing in overtime by a 77-75 final score.

How It Happened:  Shant Chenohavorian opened the Cougars' offensive accounts for the season with a three, and looked like he would be the story of the game for most of the night.  The Broncos opened up a small lead with a 7-0 run about eight minutes into the game, and would lead by as many as six in the first half.  But the Cougars, playing for the first time under new head coach BJ Porter, rallied, closing the half on an 11-4 run to take a narrow 30-29 edge into the locker rooms, capped by Chenohavorian's third triple of the half.

The game remained close throughout, with the teams combining for 10 ties and 18 lead changes.  But this time, it was the Cougars who built an advantage, swelling to as much as 53-45 following Chenohavorian's sixth three of the game with 9:24 to play.  The Broncos found an answer, unleashing an 11-0 run to reclaim the lead.  The Cougars fought back, eventually taking the lead on a Parker Christensen three with under a minute to play.  The Broncos tied it, and it looked like Chenohavorian would be the hero as he nailed a floating jumper in the lane with three seconds left.  But a foul away from the ball on the ensuing inbounds pass led to two Bronco free throws, which sent the game to an extra five minutes.

Cal Poly never trailed in the overtime, and led by as many as five.  The Cougars closed to within one and had two possessions in the final minute with a chance to win, but both tries came up empty.

By the Numbers:  Chenohavorian led all scorers in the contest with 20 points, a career high, including 6-9 on three-point attempts.  The rest of the Cougars were a combined 3-23 from beyond the arc.  Joining Chenohavorian in double figures for the Cougars were newcomers EJ Bryson (14 points), Christensen (11), and Shad Thomas (10).  Thomas and Caleb Oden tied for the team lead in rebounding with 11 each, as the Cougars won the rebounding battle 51-36.  The defense held the Broncos to just 41% shooting from the field for the game, but that was not enough to overcome 12 missed free throws and 26 turnovers.  With the win, Cal Poly Pomona leads the all-time series 31-19, and have won the last two.

Up Next:  Azusa Pacific (0-1) will look to snare their first win of the season on Wednesday when they head over to Cal State Los Angeles.  Tipoff against the Golden Eagles is set for 7:00 p.m.