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Azusa Pacific University Athletics

The Online Home of the Azusa Pacific Cougars
ttobia
Holly Magnuson
82
Azusa Pacific APU 0-0,0-0 DIII Independent
88
Winner Pacific Lutheran PacL 1-0,0-0 NWC
Azusa Pacific APU
0-0,0-0 DIII Independent
82
Final
88
Pacific Lutheran PacL
1-0,0-0 NWC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Azusa Pacific APU 45 37 82
Pacific Lutheran PacL 37 51 88

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Stealing the Lute

TACOMA, Wash. – Pacific Lutheran caught fire from beyond the 3-point line to rally from a 14-point first-half deficit and beat Azusa Pacific, 88-82, Friday night in both team's 2026-27 season opener in Olsen Gym on the PLU Campus.

Noah Gathings scored a game-high 26 points, including 17 in the second half, and Charlie Kapranos added 15 off the bench to help the Lutes storm back for the win.

The Lutes put together a 45-19 run that stretched across both halves to turn a double-digit deficit into a double-digit lead with 7 minutes left in the game.  At one point, PLU made 6-of-7 shots, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point line and tossed in a conventional 3-point play to highlight a 16-2 run that turned the PLU fortunes into a 62-53 lead.  From there a desperate set of Cougars scrambled to stay in the game, only making matters worse as PLU kept Azusa Pacific at bay down the stretch.

Down 16-10 just 7 minutes into the game, the Cougars went on a 16-0 run during a 5-and-a-half-minute stretch to assume a 26-16 advantage following a pair of Colton Gray free throws.  A Gray 3-pointer 3 minutes later pushed the Cougar lead to 14 at 37-23, before PLU used a 14-8 run at the end of the half to cut the Cougar margin to 8 at 45-37 at the half.

The Cougars built their first-half lead at the free throw line where they made 16-of-19, However, in the second half, they made only 7 points at the charity stripe, the vast majority of them coming late in the contest.

Freshman point guard Ryan Gov shined in his collegiate debut, dropping in a team-high 18 points in 27 minutes off the Cougar bench.  Gray also chipped in 18 points before fouling out after 30 minutes of play.

Now 0-1 on the young season, Azusa Pacific concludes its weekend trip to the Great Northwest with a 6 p.m. game at the University of Puget Sound Saturday (Nov. 7.)
 
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