Azusa Pacific Rallies Past Vanguards in Second Half

Southern California College played very well, but the Vanguards needed to be perfect to upset Azusa Pacific, the third-ranked team in the NAIA, in the semifinals of the Golden State Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament Saturday at Whittier College.

Azusa Pacific woke up from a sluggish first half and opened the second half with a barrage of three-pointers to help spark the Cougars to a 93-85 victory.

Jason Boswell scored 18 points, making five of seven three-pointers, and conference player of the year T.J. Walker added 17 points and eight assists to lead five scorers in double figures for Azusa Pacific (30-4).

The Cougars advance to play No. 13 Biola (29-5) in the GSAC tournament final at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Whittier College.

Azusa Pacific, the six-time conference champs, tied a school record for victories in a season. But the Cougars didn’t look good early.

SCC (19-15) led by as many as 12 in the first half, but the Vanguards couldn’t fully take advantage of the Cougars’ poor field-goal shooting (13-40, 33%) and only led at halftime, 43-40.

Justin McIntee scored 27 points and Terence Wilborn added 22 points and 13 rebounds for SCC. But the Vanguards weren’t running on all cylinders.

Point guard Adam Dzierzynski, the conference’s second-leading scorer, finished with 11 points, on four-of-12 shooting, three assists and seven turnovers. Backcourt mate Dennis Keane had 12 points, but also made only four of 12 from the field, and he was in foul trouble for most of the night.

“We were right there,” SCC Coach Bill Reynolds said. “But we had a few key missed shots and turnovers. You have to have everything right if you want to beat a team like Azusa.”

Azusa Pacific made seven of their eight three-pointers in the first 11 minutes of the second half as it erased a three-point halftime deficit to take the lead, 74-65, with 9 minutes 5 seconds remaining. SCC never got closer than four the rest of the way.