By Tim Peterson
(Glendora) – Ken West’s shot caromed off the backboard and a scramble for the rebound ensued as the final seconds ticked off. But the buzzer sounded and Cal State LA escaped with a 70-68 win over Azusa Pacific Tuesday night at Felix Events Center.
In the battle for the rebound it looked like a possible foul on Cal State LA as an APU player was knocked to the floor but nothing was called.
West ended the night with game high 19 points including two big three pointers down the stretch that kept the Cougars close.
With 1:56 left Nate Kleppe scored underneath and was fouled to complete a three-point play for Azusa Pacific to cut the Golden Eagles lead to 68-66.
After a Cal State LA basket West scored again with 40 seconds left to make it 70-68. The Cougars then came up with a stop and called timeout to set up the final play with 11 seconds left. West had a good look but he was well defended and the clock eventually ran out.
Cal State LA led by three points at the half and stretched it to as many as 10 points at 55-45 with just over ten minutes left in the second half before APU battled back.
It was the Cougars who had the hot hand early. Azusa Pacific had a 10-point lead in the first half. The Cougs were up 25-15 before the Golden Eagles went on an 18-5 run to close out the half and take a 33-30 advantage into the break.
Deuce Walker went three for three from beyond the arc and led the Golden Eagles with nine points in the first half. Corey Cofield had eight and Eche Okeke had six.
West hit a pair of threes and led the Cougars in the first half with 11.
Cal State LA then opened up hot in the second half before the Cougars made the late run to make it interesting.
After West, Michael Saba scored 12, and Kleppe and Ethan Speaker each added 10. George Reidy had seven and Bryce Sloan tossed in six.
For Cal State LA Cofield led the team with 14, Dominic Escobar scored 11, Okeke had 10 and Walker finished with 9-all in the first half.
Azusa Pacific held a huge advantage on the glass outrebounding Cal State LA 42-17. But the Cougars turned the ball over 22 times compared to just seven for the Golden Eagles.
Azusa Pacific fell to 1-4 on the year with the defeat while Cal State LA improved to 4-1.
Leave a Reply