Christian Katuala muscles his way to 12 points in the win over Pt. Loma
By Tim Peterson
(Azusa) – Azusa Pacific went on a 22-12 run over the final seven minutes to close out Point Loma 74-64 Wednesday night in PacWest action at Felix Event Center. The Game was tied at 52 when the Cougars pulled away.
Troy Leaf led the way for APU with 20 points including 14 in the second half. Running mate Robert Sandoval added 17 and Christian Katuala scored 12 down low. Sam Okhotin was hot early in the game for Point Loma and scored 10 in the first half but finished with just 13. Judd Welfringer tossed in 10.
There were 12 lead changes in the game overall. Point Loma led early on a pair of Okhotin threes but APU battled back to grab the lead on a Troy Leaf steal and bucket. The Sea Lions established control late in the first half and took a 35-30 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Whatever Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said at halftime it worked as the Cougars went on a 14-5 run to open the second half and go up 44-40. Leaf hit a three and was fouled for a four-point play and had seven points in the run. Point Loma then battled back to tie it at 52 before Azusa Pacific closed it out.
The Sea Lions had trouble keeping up with the APU guards and also fell into a prolonged shooting slump leading to their demise. Point Loma shot 41 percent for the game compared to 46 for the Cougars. Point Loma was better however in three point percentage 39 to 35. The Sea Lions were 11 for 28 from long distance while Azusa Pacific was 6 for 17. APU hit all of its threes in the second half after going 0-7 from beyond the arc in the first half.
The Cougars outrebounded Point Loma 37-28 with Katuala leading the team with 10. No player had more than five boards for Point Loma. The score was tied six times. Point Loma’s largest lead was five (at halftime) while Azusa Pacific led by as many as 13 late in the contest.
With the victory, the Cougars improved to 17-2 overall (10-1 in the PacWest) while Point Loma dropped to 13-4 (6-4).
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