FRESNO, Calif. – Azusa Pacific showed its depth in the first PacWest semifinal in a clean performance to beat Biola 75-54 with the bench pouring on 42 points on Friday in the Special Events Center.
 
After the Cougars’ big men got into foul trouble early in the game, Sasha French, who averages just 12 minutes per game, suddenly took on an important role in what was virtually a must-win game for the Cougars. He made all of his first seven field-goal attempts and finished with the second-best single-game field-goal percentage in tournament history to help lead the Cougars back to the conference championship game for the third time.
 
Azusa Pacific advances to face the winner of No. 1 Point Loma and No. 4 Academy of Art on Saturday at 2 p.m. Biola wraps up the season with a 21-8 record, which is currently tied for the best overall record in the PacWest.
 
Biola went on an 8-0 run in the first half with Chris Rossow hitting a floater in the paint to take a 21-20 lead. On the next possession Nate Kleppe made a put back for the Cougars, and got fouled for a 3-point play, which gave Azusa Pacific the lead for the remainder of the game.
 
Azusa Pacific only committed four turnovers in the entire game, and two of them were shot-clock violations in the final minutes of the game as the Cougars let time run out on the game. They also had their success on the offensive end with only five free-throw attempts in the entire game.
 
While 40 of the Cougars’ points came from inside the paint, Robertson McKelary provided some key scoring from the perimeter as he went 4 for 4 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points, equaling French’s team-high. McKelary is only the second player in tournament history to make 100 percent of 3-point attempts in a single game with a minimum of three attempts.
 
Along with McKelary and French’s combined 28 points off the bench, Terrence Becvar scored eight of his own, making two 3-pointers along with six rebounds and five assists. Azusa Pacific’s lead grew to as much as 22 points in the second half.
 
Biola was led by Whitten Dominguez’s 15 points, while Jesse Elrod added 12 points and Rossow had 11. Michael Bagatourian along with Elrod and Rossow are fifth-year seniors for Biola, and helped the Eagles win the PacWest SoCal Pod last year to reach the NCAA West Regional along with another 21 games this season.