Top Performers
APU: Troy Leaf 30 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl
CPP: Terrence Drisdom 31 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl
Azusa Pacific defeated Cal Poly Pomona 77-67 in the second round of the West Region tournament Saturday to advance to Monday’s final against California Baptist.
The Cougars came out of the gate hot, hitting seven of their first 10 attempts from beyond the arc to establish a 28-15 lead with 10:35 remaining in the first half.
“We didn’t get off to as good of a start. We let them have some open looks and they got confidence from there,” said Broncos head coach Greg Kamansky. “We had to play catch-up the whole game.”
The Broncos outscored the Cougars 13-9 to close out the half, but it was not enough to chip the deficit any lower than eight points. Azusa Pacific held the halftime advantage with a 37-28 lead.
The Cougars re-established a double-digit lead in the second half, which they maintained through much of the period.
“We’re a team that competes the same way the whole game,” said APU senior guard Troy Leaf. “We jumped out early, a little bit different from last night, and we wanted the same level of play and the same style of play the entire game.”
Leaf led Azusa Pacific with 30 points, followed by fellow senior guard Kevin Stafford, who hit 5-of-8 shots from downtown to finish with 15 points. All 10 Cougars to enter the game contributed at least two points.
“This is another one where it’s indicative of a lot of work and laying the foundation and process of preparing ourselves for this moment,” said head coach Justin Leslie. “The players executed a game plan today that we put together in August. This is probably the least amount of coaching I’ve had to do in a game in a long time because they owned it.”
Cal Poly Pomona’s Terrence Drisdom led the game with 31 points while teammate Quentin Taylor finished with 14.
“I felt comfortable in the gym. I like this gym a lot. For some reason my shot goes in here,” Drisdom said.
The Broncos defeated the Cougars 81-78 in overtime when the two teams met earlier in the season. The loss came right before Azusa Pacific’s 14-game winning streak.
“That game is what catapulted us to who we are now,” said Leslie.
The Cougars will tip off against the California Baptist Lancers in the regional championship Monday at 7 p.m. in the Felix Event Center.