Cougars win 17th straight game after defeating Art 98-69
Azusa Pacific took on Academy of Art (Art) on Thursday night, the Cougars’ senior night. The Urban Knights played a physical game, not giving the Cougars any easy shots, but APU’s talented players overwhelmed them over the course of the game as APU claimed a 98-69 victory.
Senior forward Selom Mawugbe won the tipoff for APU and the Cougars never let off the gas as they held the lead for the entire half. Junior guard Terrence Becvar led the Cougars in scoring with 14 points. Both teams came out with a rough touch, as there were a total of 19 fouls in the first period of play.
Mawugbe showed everyone why he is in contention for first-team all PacWest with his elite defense and scoring ability, including multiple blocks in his post position as well as a few alley-oop dunks.
In the final seconds of the first half, the Cougars had five seconds on the clock and Becvar did not let the fleeting seconds go to waste as he drove down the court and slung a pass to teammate Noah Bundrant for the buzzer-beater layup giving the Cougars a lot of momentum going into halftime. The first period came to a close with APU leading 43-29.
At the start of the second period, the Cougars continued to extend their lead as Mawugbe hit another slam dunk and continued his heroics on defense with a total of 11 rebounds.
The Urban Knights started to fight back, hitting three triples and cutting the Cougars’ lead to just 10 points. But freshman forward Ken West struck back with a reverse layup and reclaimed the momentum.
Halfway through the second period, Mawugbe collided with Art forward Josh Hill. Players on both sides got in each other’s faces over the play and it appeared like a fight may break out for a moment. The referee gave Mawugbe a technical foul on the play and the crowd erupted in discontent at the call. Shortly after, Mawugbe was flagrantly fouled on his alley-oop by Art guard Joshua Bagley. Mawugbe sunk both his free throws for two more points on the night.
The APU offense turned up the heat, led by Jake Spurgeon who paced the Cougars in scoring with 19 points. Spurgeon was 7-10 in field goals and 3-5 in three-pointers. With two minutes remaining in the game, starting seniors Spurgeon, Mawugbe, Noah Bundrant, and Ben Taufahema were subbed out of their last game in the Felix Event Center while receiving a standing ovation from the fans for their time at APU. APU went on to claim the victory, 98-69.
Taufahema was a three-year starter for the Cougars. He had a career-high 19 points against Biola earlier this season. Spurgeon transferred to APU from Seattle University. In his time as a Cougar, he had a scoring high against Hawaii Hilo where he totaled 28 points. Bundrant dominated at his guard spot, including a career-high 15 points against Western Washington. Mawugbe struck fear into opponents with his daunting 6’10” frame throughout his four-year career at APU. Against Biola, he had a career-high 25 points.
These seniors will continue to lead their team in hopes of a playoff run as they get ready to finish off the last three games of the regular season. The Cougars next contest is against Dominican on the road on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.