FRESNO, Calif. – While Hawai`i Hilo hung tight with Azusa Pacific, the Cougars kept their nose in front most of the way, not trailing after the first five minutes as they advanced to the PacWest Championships semifinals with an 87-72 win on Wednesday at the Special Events Center.
 
The Cougars scored 88 points the last time they faced the Vulcans and the quarterfinal win for Azusa Pacific (19-8) was its highest scoring win since then. Azusa Pacific will go on to face No. 3 seed Biola in the semifinals on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Hawai`i Hilo (14-13) wraps up its season with a 14-13 record after qualifying for the tournament for the first time by going 10-9 during the PacWest season.
 
Azusa Pacific outrebounded the Vulcans 43-25 and Nate Kleppe led the rebounding effort for the Cougars with 12 as he picked up his second double-double of the season. The Cougars outscored Hawai`i Hilo in second chance points, 14-0.
 
After Hawai`i Hilo pulled within two points in the first half, Azusa Pacific answered with a 10-0 run that was started by Justin Hemsley knocking down a jumper in the paint. The lead got extended to as much as 17 in the second half when Ben Avera made a 3-pointer that was assisted by Terrence Becvar.
 
The Vulcans got the deficit back down to double digits a few times, but the Cougars responded quickly each time. Donald McHenry and Darren Williams led the Vulcans’ offense with a combined 37 points on 15-of-27 shooting.
 
Azusa Pacific held onto its lead the rest of the way and made 11 of 17 shots from inside the arc in the second half. The Cougars offense was paced by Ken West’s 21 points as he made 7 of 14 shots and helped the Cougars score 34 points in the paint. Hayden Gray added 15 points for Azusa Pacific, and Avera added 11 off the bench.