By Tim Peterson
(Glendora) – Azusa Pacific outscored Hawaii Hilo 49-34 in the second half and went on to beat the Vulcans 77-64 Thursday night at Felix Events Center.
The Cougars trailed by two, 30-28 at the half but then exploded in the second half to overwhelm Hawaii.
It was a tale of two halves. APU shot 33 percent from the floor in the first half compared to 43 percent in the second. The Cougars were also 33 percent from three-point land in the first half and 40 percent from behind the arc in the second. Even at the free throw line there was a huge discrepancy. The Cougs only attempted four from the line in the first half and made one for 25 percent. In the second half they converted 15 of 21 for over 71 percent.
APU led 5-4 at the first timeout as Hayden Gray hit a three for the Cougars.
Gray hit another three but Hawaii Hilo responded with a quick 8-4 run to take a 16-12 edge with 11:52 left in the first half. Hawaii maintained the lead the rest of the half as Aniwaniwa Tait -Jones scored 8 points and Carlos Ramsey Jr. added five.
Ramsey’s driving lay-up put the Vulcans up by five with 1:54 left in the first half. Darren Williams also had a three -point play for Hawaii Hilo as they took the two-point halftime advantage.
Gray led the way for the Cougars with 9 on three treys in the first half. Sloan had 8 and Justin Hemsley added four.
Things were vastly different in the second half. Nate Kleppe immediately set the tone as he hit a three pointer and was fouled to convert a big four-point play to get the Cougars started. Ken West warmed up and buried a pair of threes and Gray knocked down another as APU went on a 17-8 run to go up 45-37.
Hemsley hit one from downtown and Sloan scored on a put-back as APU continued to apply the pressure to up the lead to 10 at 55-45.
Another Sloan bucket and a pair of hoops by Trevan Martin increased the lead to 62-47 with 7:00 left and that was for all intents and purposes, the ballgame as APU rolled to the 13-point win.
For the Cougars Gray and Sloan each had 19 points to lead the charge. West and Hemsley were also each in double figures with 12 each. Kleppe finished with 8 and Martin added 7.
For Hawaii Hilo Ramsey scored 15 points, Kalique Mitchell had 14 and Tait-Jones tossed in 13.
It was a key win for Azusa Pacific as the Cougars improved to 19-6 overall but more importantly 14-4 in the PacWest Conference as they secured second place ahead of Hawaii Hilo.
Hawaii Hilo fell to 16-6 overall and 12-5 in the PacWest.
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