AZUSA, Calif. – With just 15 seconds remaining and a 58-57 lead, Azusa Pacific needed one final stop to seal the win over Concordia. However, a late foul allowed the Golden Eagles to spoil the Cougars' hopes, as they made both free throws in the final five seconds to edge out a 59-58 victory.
Charlie Gehler led the team with 15 points on the night and
Michael Saba was the only other Cougar to join him in double-digit scoring.
Kaleb Taylor and Chris Gayles produced s strong game on defense, combing for 13 rebounds and five blocks.
How it Happened: After a three-minute scoring drought to start the game,
Charlie Gehler set up a beautiful, wide-open layup for
Kaleb Taylor. Concordia answered with a triple, but Gehler responded with one of his own, sparking a seven-point run to open the half.
The Cougars maintained their lead for most of the first half, until a 10-2 scoring run in the final three minutes allowed the Golden Eagles to take a 24-22 lead into halftime.
Now trailing,
Chris Gayles Jr. kickstarted the half with a driving layup followed by a layup by Taylor to regain a lead. After an extra-point play by Taylor gave the Cougars a later lead, the team held onto the momentum for the next ten minutes.
However, they ran into some trouble, facing a three-minute scoring drought as they saw their lead slowly evaporate. Despite finding some footing once again, both teams exchanged buckets and within minutes, the Cougars found themselves trailing by as much as eight points.
Gehler found a second-half spark, scoring a driving layup followed by a dunk and free throw to cut the Cougars' deficit to three points with 2:30 to go in the game.
Thanks to some key defensive stops,
Maui Sze and
Michael Saba each sank clutch free throws in the final seconds, giving Azusa Pacific a 58-57 lead with 15 seconds left.
But as time ticked down, Azusa Pacific found themselves on the wrong side of a late foul call, as the Cougars watched their lead disappear when Jaden Henderson knocked both free throws to seal the win for Concordia in the final five seconds.
By the Numbers: Despite a stronger second half, Azusa Pacific struggled with shooting efficiency, finishing 21-for-51 (41.2%) from the field, including 5-for-18 (27.8%) from three-point range. Concordia was similar, shooting 19-for-57 (33.3%) from the field and 7-for-23 (30.4%) from beyond the arc. The story of the night was the free-throw shooting. Azusa Pacific was 11-for-17 from the line, while Concordia was nearly perfect at 14-for-15, including the game-winning free throws in the final moments.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific (11-12, 6-9 in PacWest) will head south on Saturday to face Vanguard in Costa Mesa for its final road game of the season before finishing the year with a four-game homestand.
As we round the corner on the basketball season with the PacWest Tournament drawing closer, let it be remembered that the top six teams in the regular-season standings will qualify (except for first-year members). Azusa Pacific, currently ninth in the conference, enters the final stretch of the season with matchups against the top three teams in the PacWest. A win or two over those final games could help the Cougars' chance at making another deep postseason run like last season.
