TACOMA, Wash. – In a story that likely sounds familiar from the night before, the Cougars fought valiantly but came up short on the road, falling to Puget Sound by a 74-64 score Saturday evening inside Memorial Fieldhouse.
The Cougars relied on three-point shooting in the early going to keep pace with Puget Sound. Azusa Pacific's first five baskets of the game all came from beyond the arc. Kai Morphy hit five threes in the first half, scoring 15 of his team-high 17 points in the first half as the Cougars made 7 of their first 12 attempts from long range.
Morphy's fifth triple of the game capped a 13-2 run by the Cougars that gave them their largest lead of the night at 30-26. The Loggers would fight back and hit a three of their own with the final points of the first half to take a 37-35 lead at intermission.
Azusa Pacific was once again done in by a slow start to the second half, as the Loggers opened the second on a 15-2 run to increase the lead to 52-37. After hitting on 50% of their three-point tries in the first half, the Cougars managed just 1-11 in the second, and would never get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Morphy led the way with 17 points for the Cougars, joined in double figures by Tobias Aisien with 14. Tolu Babs-Ajayi had 5 points and 6 rebounds off the bench, including an impressive dunk near the midway point of the second half. Puget Sound won the rebounding battle 33-25 and doubled up the Cougars on points in the paint, 40-20.
This was only the second meeting ever between the two schools, with Puget Sound winning both on their home floor. The previous meeting came in 1984.
Azusa Pacific will return to Southern California for their home opener on Tuesday evening against West Coast Baptist. Tipoff against the Eagles is set for 7:00 p.m.
