COSTA MESA, Calif. – Capping off a thrilling weekend in APU Athletics, the Men's basketball team earned a 73-72 win over Vanguard behind Jordan Hansen's 21-point performance. 

Maui Sze and Michael Saba joined Hansen in double-digit scoring with 11 points each while Logan Stempniak grabbed a season-high seven rebounds and Trevan Martin dished out a career-best five assists, all contributing to the team win.

How it Happened: Jordan Hansen kicked off the game with a three-pointer in the first 15 seconds, marking the first of his five triples on the night.

The teams went back and forth exchanging leads, but the Lions went on an eight-point run to take a 32-22 lead with 6:48 left in the first half.

Later in the half, Hansen scored a three-pointer followed by a driving layup to cut their deficit to five. A triple from Gayles Jr. and a free throw from Kaleb Taylor capped an 8-0 run for the Cougars, who trailed by just one at the half, 39-38.

The Lions opened the second half with a three-pointer, but Hansen responded with a triple of his own. The Cougars then took control, starting with a slam dunk from Trevan Martin and maintaining the lead for the rest of the game.

Leading 54-52 with more than halfway to go in the second half, Azusa Pacific went on another eight-point run to take its largest lead of the game.

Down the stretch, the Cougars ran into foul trouble, and the Lions capitalized, scoring their next eight points from the free-throw line alone. But it wasn't enough as a last-chance foul from the Lions gave Trevan Martin the chance to extend the Cougars' lead to 73-69. And despite a buzzer-beater three-pointer from the Lions, it was too late as Azusa Pacific held on for the 73-72 victory over Vanguard.

By the Numbers: The Cougars dominated from the boards, grabbing 44 rebounds to Vanguard's 31. Despite the win, Azusa Pacific struggled to keep the ball safe, resulting in 20 turnovers on the night, resulting in 24 points for Vanguard. Both teams shot below 50% from the field and beyond the arc, however, the two put on a shooting clinic in the first half as Azusa Pacific shot 7-for-12 from three and Vanguard shot 6-for-16.

Up Next: With the majority of their season behind them, Azusa Pacific (12-12, 7-9 in PacWest) now faces a tough gauntlet in the final four games. Starting with a conference matchup against Westmont on Wednesday night, the Cougars will close out the year by taking on the top three teams in the PacWest: Point Loma, Biola, and Academy of Art.