AZUSA, Calif. – Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) had a team-high 20 points and Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, CA/Steele Canyon) posted his first double double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, but the 17th-ranked Cougars of Azusa Pacific held Dixie State without a field goal over the final 4:15 to complete a 72-69 comeback win at the Felix Event Center. 

Dixie State had its four-game win streak snapped, falling to 11-6 on the year and 8-3 in the Pacific West. The Cougars picked up its first win in six tries against DSU to improve to 17-2, 10-1.
 
Robbins hit all 10 free throws he attempted leading Dixie State to an outstanding 33 of 35 (93 percent) performance from the stripe. Ogden was 9 of 10 from the line while DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) posted a perfect night (7-7) en route to 13 points.
 
Troy Leaf paced the Cougars with 24 points including a 10-10 night at the free-throw line.
 
Dixie State broke an early 7-7 stalemate in the first half with a 16-4 run to take a 12-point lead at 23-11. Robbins had a pair of lay-ins while strong defense led to multiple APU turnovers. The resulting fast breaks earn short shots off the glass for Collin Woods (Scottsdale, AZ/Horizon) and Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow) while Trevor Hill (Sandy, UT/Alta) hit a floater in the paint.
 
The Cougars hit shots from distance late in the half slicing the Storm's lead at halftime to 36-32.
 
An 11-3 spurt to open the second half allowed DSU to regain a 12-point advantage. Robbins hit a tough baseline jumper with 4:15 on the clock that ended up as the last field goal for the Red Storm.
 
Leaf would take the Cougars on his back by hitting three clutch free throws that gave APU the lead with 1:15 to go. Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) missed a lay-up attempt in the final minute that could have been the equalizer. APU gained a three-point lead via free throws and fouled Dixie State players before they could attempt a shot from the arc. A last second heave from Sawyer fell short to seal the APU comeback.
 
Dixie State shot 40.9 percent (18-44) from the floor in the game and held APU under its field goal average by 10 percent (23-57, 40.4 percent).
 
The Red Storm continue a string of games away from home on Thursday night, Jan. 29, facing Dominican University of California at the Conlan Center.
 
GAME NOTES: Dixie State dropped its first ever NCAA game to the Cougars in the all-time series (5-1) … All three of DSU's losses in the league have come on the road … DSU made its first 20 shots from the free-throw line (15-15 in the first half) before a Ogden miss came with 11:29 left in the game … Dixie State was unable to win its fourth straight against an NABC ranked team – the Storm are 4-2 against ranked teams this season.