With the Cougars holding to a 20-14 lead, Dillon made his first jumper of the night to start the Cougar run that ended when he buried a trey that gave Azusa Pacific a 32-18 halftime lead.
Azusa Pacific then relied on some outstanding defensive play to run away from the Spartans in the second half, leading by at least 14 over the final 15 minutes of the game. A Nate Pratt 3-pointer midway through the second half pushed the Cougar lead to 20 at 49-29 with 10:26 remaining in the game.
“We played very well tonight,” said Cougar coach Bill Odell. “I thought our defense was excellent, as was San Jose’s but our offense did a good job of adjusting to their pressure.”
Sophomore Spencer Foster led all scorers with 16 points, including 11 in the second half. Sophomore center Brice Prather enjoyed his best came of the young season with 10 points. Junior Lance Soderberg collected a game-high 10 rebounds, while Larry English chipped in with 8 points and game-high 8 assists to go along with 11 steals.
The Cougars and Spartans struggled though a sluggish first 10 minutes of the game but there were just 2 lead changes in the game, and Azusa Pacific secured the advantage for good when English drained a trey that gave Azusa Pacific a 6-5 cushion at the 16-minute mark of the first half.
Twelve different Cougars played, including junior college transfer Colton Cornfoot, who made his first appearance of the 2004-05 season after recovering from off-season surgery.
The victory is Azusa Pacific’s first win over an NCAA Division I team since 1980 when the Cougars knocked off NCAA Tournament-bound Loyola Marymount. However, the win does not count on Azusa Pacific’s record since it was played as an exhibition.
