AZUSA, Calif – Azusa Pacific hosted the Concordia Golden Eagles in the last of a four game home stretch on Thursday night, but were unable to come away victorious as they lost 71-61.

The Cougar offense was led by DM Sanders who scored 16 points on the night. Shad Thomas recorded his 8th double double of the season, scoring 11 and grabbing 11 rebounds. Parker Christensen also helped the Cougars' offensive output, shooting an efficient 5-10 from the floor, leaving him with 11 points. 

Concordia looked the better team early on in the first half as they took a 7 point lead in the opening five minutes, and by the eighth minute, APU found themselves down by 10. From then on, the Cougars worked to keep themselves alive, and with just three minutes left in the half a Colton Gray layup followed by a Jackson Young 3-point shot saw them reduce the deficit to just 1. The Golden Eagles found a few points before half and APU entered the break down by 5. 

Azusa Pacific went into the second half hoping to turn the game around. APU's opening 10 points of the half were scored by 6 different players as they battled to keep the game within reach. With just under ten minutes to go, Azusa Pacific was down by only 4, however they began to run out of steam, and Concordia started to build their lead again. The Golden Eagles scored eight free throws in the last three minutes to put the game to bed, winning 71-61.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific (6-13 and 4-10 in the PacWest) look ahead to their next PacWest matchup, when they travel up to Rocklin, Calif. to play the Jessup Warriors. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30pm on Saturday, February 7th at the Warrior Arena.