By Jacob Norling
January 3, 2026
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (6-5, 3-2 PacWest) both wore and threw punches for 40 minutes with the Azusa Pacific Cougars (4-6, 2-3) in the Warriors' first game of 2026 on Saturday night. Ultimately, in a game of runs, it was APU that had both the last and the longest in a 70-66 win for the road team.
 
"Well, it certainly was a game of runs, but I think the story of the game for us was missed opportunities," said Westmont Head Coach Justin Leslie. "There were a lot of missed layups, there were a lot of open three's we missed, and there were just a lot of opportunities to finish plays on both sides that we just did not take advantage of tonight."
 
By the time of the first media timeout Westmont had held all but one player for APU scoreless. Unfortunately, the player who could find the bottom of the rim had all nine of the Cougar's points up to that moment, leading to an early 9-9 tie at the 15:29-mark. Westmont's scoring at the point was highlighted by both a three-ball and a dunk from Aidan Mandel.
 
The two sides stayed within a point of one-another at the game's next stoppage with most of APU's success early on coming from beyond the arc, where four triples from the Cougars led to a slim 14-13 advantage (11:56). Leading into the half's penultimate media timeout a shot clock violation capped off a three-plus minute dry spell from the Warriors' offense. On the other end APU had not shot the ball very well overall, making just seven of their first 19 from the field. Where the Cougars benefited, however, was the fact five of their seven makes landed from three-point land, allowing the visitors to lead 21-15 with under eight to play.
 
The deficit stayed at arm's reach entering the half's final four minutes (27-22), and grew ever-so-slightly by time of intermission with APU leading 32-26. At half, Westmont was out-rebounded 22-13, which included a dozen offensive rebounds for the Cougars. The Warriors also couldn't do themselves any favors from beyond the arc, where they made just two of 11 during the half.
 
The deficit grew to nine early on in the second half, but a couple three-pointers from JV Brown and Braedon Bigott allowed Westmont to at least remain within single digits while they continued to search for it. Bigott proved to have a couple answers himself, when he buried two more three-pointers to pull Westmont within a pair. Then, Alex Williams fired his bench up with a slam dunk leading into a media timeout, capping off an 8-0 run to draw the teams even at 41 (12:43). This run came on the heels of strong defense from the Warriors, who held APU scoreless for more than two minutes as they brought the fight back to the center of the ring.  
 
With just-under 10 minutes to play the Warriors took their first lead since the opening couple minutes of the contest, when Bigott slipped through the lane for another make at the rim (45-44). With 8:24 on the clock Mandel gave the Warriors their first multi-possession lead when he buried a three-ball on the far corner for Westmont's fifth triple of the half (50-46). That lead held at time of the game's penultimate media timeout, as up to that point in the second period Westmont had out-rebounded APU 12-9, while allowing only two offensive rebounds in more than 12 minutes.
 
A flurry of APU three's created some tension as the game entered its final four minutes, but a couple clutch shots from Jarrett Bryant and Davon Smith kept Westmont ahead by a single tally leading into the final media timeout (58-57). On the other end of the stoppage, Bigott continued his strong showing by upping his total to 17 points on a layup. Then, APU answered once more, with the Cougars getting three points the old-fashioned way to tie it at 60 with 3:30 to play.
 
The game would stay tied for more than a minute, until the 2:10-mark when a gut-wrenching three-pointer fell for the Cougars (63-60). A painful swing in momentum got only worse one possession later, when a breakaway dunk for APU finished off an 8-0 run to put the Warriors on the ropes with 1:42 to play (65-60).
 
It would ultimately become a 11-0 run before APU would once again relent, as the Cougars defense continued to come up big in the game's final minutes. A make for the Warriors was followed by a steal, and basket in transition from Trey Thompson, giving the Warriors a bit of life with 38 seconds to play. Down four with 17.5 seconds, Westmont came away with yet another steal, sending the Warriors into a timeout searching for a way to catch lightning in a bottle.
 
Davon Smith then woke the home crowd up once more by wearing contact, earning a whistle, and making a basket to bring the Warriors within two (68-66). Smith missed a free throw that would have brought the club within one, but a shocking offensive rebound for the Warriors made Murchison Gym hold its collective breath as the clock ticked under ten seconds. Unfortunately for the home team, the Warriors could not take advantage of their second chance, as the club turned the ball over before giving itself a shot to either tie or win it in the final moments.
 
Instead, two more free throws from APU officially iced what turned out to be a thriller, with the Cougars beating the Warriors 70-66 in The Murch.
 
"You have got to give them credit," said Leslie. "Shant Chenorhavorian came off the bench and hit four key three's that changed the game. That was ultimately one of the differences tonight. For us, two turnovers in the last couple minutes sealed things, but really, I look back at earlier in the night at how many times we just missed open shots.
 
"There were plenty of plays to be made on both sides, but again, you have to give them credit. APU played tougher tonight, and ultimately that kind of thing is going to dictate our success more often than not. We have to be a more physical, more engaged team, and tonight we weren't. We'll get back to the drawing board and get ready for Tuesday night."
 
On Tuesday night in Costa Mesa the Warriors will take on the Vanguard Lions at 7:30 p.m.