COSTA MESA – Second half shooting hurt the Vanguard men's basketball team in a 73-72 loss to Azusa Pacific on Saturday in the Freed Center.
After building a 10-point first half lead, the Lions shot 32.1 (9 of 28) percent in the final 20 minutes. The Cougars made shots consistently throughout, finishing at 49.1 (26 of 53) percent for the game, with 13 made field goals in each half. The Lions had separate stretches of six minutes and four minutes in the second half where they did not make a field goal.
In addition, the Lions squandered opportunities to win the game at the free throw line, going 13 of 22 at the stripe in the second half – 59.1 percent. VU had eight more free throw attempts than the Cougars for the game.
Junior Bryson Metz led the Lions with 19 points. He hit a career-high four threes on six attempts, adding three rebounds and a blocked shot.
Leonard Turner finished with 17 points, four rebounds, a block and a pair of steals. He knocked down two triples and went 5 of 6 at the free throw line. The third Lion in double figures was Jackson Larsen with 11 points.
Aibigho Ujadughele accounted for eight points, while adding a career-high tying eight rebounds to go along with a team-high five steals. Over his last seven games, Ujadughele is averaging 3.1 steals.
The Lions took care of the ball with just nine turnovers – tying for their third-fewest in a game this season – and had 13 steals. It was their eighth straight game with double-digit steals. VU turned 20 APU turnovers into 24 points.
APU held a 44-31 edge in the rebounding department and shot 41.7 (10 of 24) percent from distance.
Jordan Hansen had a game-high 21 points for the Cougars before fouling out. Maui Sze and Trevan Martin each tallied five assists.
VU (11-10, 5-10) lost its sixth straight game, while APU improved to 12-12 overall and 7-9 in the PacWest.
What Happened?: The Lions came out energized and aggressive, and built their largest lead of 11 points in the first half.
Metz knocked down three triples in a three-minute span to spark a 13-4 run that had the Lions leading 37-26 at the 5:09 mark.
But the momentum was short-lived as the Cougars closed the half on a 12-2 run to slice the deficit down to one. VU took a 39-38 lead into the locker room after shooting just 1 of 8 over the final five minutes.
Metz canned his fourth three-pointer of the game to open the second half for a 42-38 VU lead. But Hansen answered with a three of his own, and a Kaleb Taylor dunk handed the Cougars a 43-42 advantage, their first lead since 19-18 in the first half.
Larsen took a feed from Anthony Tello and converted a jumper to wrest the lead back for the final time at 44-43.
Chris Gayles Jr. responded with a three-pointer to give the Cougars a 46-44 lead. The Lions tied the game twice, but another Taylor slam gave APU a 50-48 lead.
VU stayed within striking distance and trailed just 54-52 after Ujadughele hit one of two free throws.
The Cougars posted an 8-0 run – five of those from reserve Michael Saba – and led 62-52 with 8:47 remaining.
Sze hurt the Lions down the stretch, scoring eight of his 11 points over the final 4:26.
The Lions kept lurking and trailed just 66-61 with under three minutes to play. But Sze hit a tough jumper, drew the foul and converted the free throw to push APU's lead to eight.
VU closed the deficit to as little as three, 69-66, following two Metz free throws.
But the Lions could not get the stop they needed, and Sze hit an off-balance jumper in the paint with 32 seconds remaining. Two Turner free throws got VU within 71-69, but Martin sank a pair of crucial freebies with two seconds remaining.
Trailing by four, VU scored its final points on a three-point heave at the buzzer by Tello, as the Lions lost by five points or less for the fourth time in their last six contests.
What's Next?: The Lions play their next three games on the road, starting next Saturday against Biola at 7:30 p.m.
