AZUSA, Calif. – Despite a late run in the game's final two minutes where Western Oregon University's men's basketball team knocked down 6-of-6 three-pointers, the Wolves could not overcome a double-digit deficit late falling by the final score of 75-67 to No. 14-ranked Azusa Pacific University in the first round of the NCAA Division II National Tournament Friday inside the Felix Event Center.

"First of all, I want to say that I'm extremely proud of our group as we have a group of kids that is a special unit and has really has bought into everything that team is about," said Head Coach Brady Bergeson. "I am extremely proud of them. They have helped us get to places that we have never been in school history before and they have a lot to be proud of this year. We have accomplished a great deal. We have an entire locker room full of them, an entire bench full of them, and the most extraordinary, hard-working staff that I've been around. I extremely happy about the things that we have accomplished and I'm only disappointed in myself tonight. I'm very proud of our kids."

Western Oregon (23-7) was led offensively by Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Year Andy Avgi with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, while junior Julian Nichols and senior Lewis Thomas also scored in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively. On the boards, Nichols and Thomas grabbed a game-high tying seven rebounds each to go along with four assists by Nichols and three steals each by Nichols and Thomas.

Azusa Pacific (25-5) was led by PacWest Player of the Year Troy Leaf with a game-high 36 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field to go along with a 13-for-13 performance at the free throw line. Robert Sandoval was the only other Cougar in double figures with 11 points, while Sandoval, Andy Jones, and Petar Kutlesic each grabbed a team-high six rebounds for APU to go along with a game-high five assists by Leaf.

The game would begin with Western Oregon jumping out to a quick 11-0 lead over the opening four-plus minutes before Azusa Pacific used a 20-8 run over a span of nine minutes to grab a slim 20-19 lead on a jumper by Leaf with 6:54 left on the first half clock. Neither team would hold more than a three-point lead over the next four minutes until Western Oregon secured a 32-28 advantage on a jumper in the paint by Nichols. With 91 seconds left in the opening half, the Wolves earned another four-point lead (34-30) on a lay-in by junior Jordan Schriber before Azusa Pacific closed the half on a 4-0 run to send the game into halftime deadlocked at 34-34. A last-second half-court shot by junior Devon Alexander nearly handed Western Oregon the lead at halftime, but his heave would hit the back of the rim before coming down to the floor.

Azusa Pacific began the second on an 11-7 run over the opening five minutes en route to securing a 45-41 lead on a three-pointer by Leaf with exactly 15 minutes left in the contest. Western Oregon would fight back to take the lead once again at 49-47, as Nichols stole the ball at midcourt and scored on a fast break lay-in with 10:24 remaining. Over the next eight minutes, Azusa Pacific stepped up its intensity on both ends of the floor as the Cougars used an 18-3 run to pull ahead by 13 points (65-52) on a lay-in by Bruce English with 2:29 left. This is where the long range shooting by the Wolves began to come into play, as Western Oregon connected on six straight three-point baskets to pull within four points (71-67) on a long distance shot by Thomas with 26 seconds left in the game. Unfortunately for WOU, free throw shooting down the stretch by Azusa Pacific would be costly as the Cougars connected on 10-for-10 in the final 85 seconds en route to securing the hard-fought 75-67 victory.

As a team, Western Oregon combined to shoot 26-for-66 (39.4%) from the field that included 8-for-21 (38.1%) from beyond the three-point line and 7-for-10 (70.0%) at the free throw line. Azusa Pacific, on the other hand, was a combined 26-for-60 (43.3%) from the field that included a 53.8% (14-for-26) clip in the second half. The Cougars were also a combined 6-for-25 (24.0%) from long distance and 17-of-18 (94.4%) at the charity stripe.

Azusa Pacific moves onto the second round of the NCAA Division II National Tournament where the Cougars will face Cal Poly Pomona beginning at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow – Saturday, March 14 – inside the Felix Event Center, while Western Oregon now turns its attention toward next season where the Wolves will return four-of-five starters from this year's GNAC regular season championships team that included both Avgi and Nichols.

"It's been a tremendous season," added Bergeson. "We started this thing with a win at Oregon State that gave us a great deal of confidence early on and we have just continued to evolve and grow closer as the season went on. The thing that can easily be glanced over this year is that half of our games came down to one-two possessions; games that were won in the last minute of the game. We might have one of the best records in terms of one or two possessions games than anyone in the country. We lost a couple of them, but we won a whole lot more than we lost. That is a testament to our kids and their resolve, their mental toughness, and their ability to performance under pressure. Again, I could not be more proud of them with what they have given us.

"You can't ask to share a season being together for seven months just about every day with a better group of kids and staff. If you can't enjoy your time doing that with this group, you're an alien. I just enjoyed every day. I enjoyed getting up early and working hard for these kids. I enjoyed the time with the staff. I enjoyed the bus ride, even the mini van rides as there were a lot of them through a lot of miles where you get to know guys pretty well. The whole journey was beautiful. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We will walk out of here disappointed, but proud."