Troy Leaf scores 32 but it wasn’t enough as the Cougars fall to Cal Baptist.
By Tim Peterson
(Riverside) – Cal Baptist shot 57 percent from three point territory and 56 percent overall in an 87-80 win over Azusa Pacific Saturday night at Van Dyne Gym.
The Lancers shot the lights out from the beginning. Trevone Williams set the tone by knocking down a pair of threes right out of the gate. Cal Baptist jumped out to an eight point lead in the first half and hit eight of their first 12 shots from three point land. The Cougars fought back to get even at 37 at the half behind the hot shooting of Troy Leaf who had 13.
The Lancers continued to find the mark in the second half as well. Cal Baptist was 12 for 21 behind the arc overall. Gelaun Wheelwright led the way with 25 points including five threes. Chris Brown had 16 and Williams ended the night with three treys and 14 points.
Leaf finished with 32 points to pace the Cougars. Leaf was 5 for 11 from three point land and 10 of 22 overall. Christian Katuala was the only other Cougar in double figures with 13. Azusa Pacific shot 43 percent for the game.
The Lancers won the game from beyond the arc. 36 of their points came from the land of plenty compared to 18 for the Cougars. APU was 6 of 19 from downtown (31 percent.)
After the Cougars fell behind 20-12 with 11:30 left in the first half, they outscored CBU 12-5 over the next three minutes to get within a point at 25-24. Cal Baptist regained control however and still led by five with 2:27 left. The Cougars then ran off the last five points to close out the half and get even at 37.
CBU picked up right where it left off to open the second half and quickly forged an advantage once again. APU continually fouled down the stretch in an attempt to get back in the game but the Lancers were efficient enough to maintain the lead. The Lancers eventually led by 13 at 84-71 before settling for the seven point victory. Brown was 9 of 11 from the line and Michael Smith hit 4 of 6 and scored 12 points to keep the Cougs at bay.
With the win Cal Baptist improved to 11-3 in the PacWest and 17-4 overall. APU fell to 12-3 and 19-4.
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