Senior forward Tyler Monroe dominated the Vulcans, shooting 8-for-11 for 17 points, five rebounds and two blocks in the win Monday, Feb. 17. Photo credit: Kimberly Smith
Azusa Pacific men’s basketball finished a sweep of its Hawai’i conference opponents in a three-game home series with a 92-79 victory over Hawai’i Hilo Monday, Feb. 17.
The Cougars trailed the Vulcans in the opening minutes, but pulled away with a double-digit lead at the half. They maintained the margin steadily through the second half, never allowing Hawai’i Hilo closer than 13 points away.
“We had a poor start to the game. They had seven offensive rebounds in the first 7-10 minutes of the game, got a lot of second-chance points that really kept us from getting going,” head coach Justin Leslie said. “Once [junior guard Robert Sandoval] got going just getting in the transition, being aggressive, attacking and finding people it really opened things up.”
Azusa Pacific shot for 56.4 percent from the field, led by senior forward Tyler Monroe with a team-high 17 points and junior guards Troy Leaf and Sandoval, who combined for 29 points and 13 assists.
Additionally, sophomore guard Lydell Cardwell collected 10 of the Cougars’ 46 points off the bench.
“We wanted to force tempo,” Leslie said. “We wanted to be aggressive, to make this a game where we’re deeper, we’re more physical, we’re the better team.”
Hawai’i Hilo guard Darnell Williams led the Vulcans with a season-high 31 points, including a 22-point second-half performance.
“To give them credit, they did a good job of disrupting us,” Leslie said. “In the second half, Darnell Williams played a great game. He just made shots, he wouldn’t let them get too far away. They had plenty of opportunities to roll over and let us take it from 15 to 20, and he would make a shot to keep them there.”
The Vulcans remain winless in their PacWest schedule, while the Cougars improve to 10-7 in conference and 14-9 overall.
Azusa Pacific will host Point Loma on Saturday in its final regular-season home game for senior day before traveling to the Academy of Art and Holy Names to conclude the conference schedule.