AZUSA, Calif. – Despite being on the road in a close game with his team's rival in the waning minutes, California Baptist University Coach Jarrod Olson never doubted his team would pull out the PacWest victory over Azusa Pacific.

Olson's confidence had a lot to do with the five Lancer seniors, who boast an abundance of playoff experience. It proved to be well founded, as the 11^th-ranked Lancers downed the Cougars 82-76 in the Felix Event Center Thursday night to sweep the regular-season series with its rival.  

CBU maintains its first-place lead in the PacWest by winning its 13^th-straight game and improving to 16-2, 7-0 in conference. Azusa Pacific slides to 7-9 and 5-3 in the PacWest with the loss. The Lancers return home on Saturday when Concordia visits the Van Dyne Gym for a 5 p.m. tip.

"I know I have a lot of confidence in them, knowing they can make plays," Olson said of his senior-laden team. "It's been a lot of fun to coach them the last four years, and I'm really happy they were able to win here (at APU), they'd never done that in their four years. It was something we talked about at the beginning of the year, something they wanted to do."

Cassidy Mihalko, one of those five seniors, led the way for CBU with a game-high 27 points. Another senior, Courtney Nelson, added 15 points and four rebounds, while Emma Meriggioli chipped in 11 points on a trio of three-pointers and four more boards.

Senior guard Kamille Diaz nearly completed a double-double, with 10 assists, eight rebounds and four steals. Lexy Ram scored nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 night at the free-throw line, while Olivia Weber, a senior forward, came close to another double-double with eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

"What's great about our team is we just have so many great players, anyone can go off at any given moment," said Mihalko, who nailed five of seven three-pointers and added six rebounds and three steals. "It's really important the team just pick each other up and we have a well-rounded team."

APU jumped out to an early lead in the game, 10-5, by forcing some turnovers. The Lancers cleaned up their offense and closed out the first quarter on a 14-3 run to hold a 24-18 advantage headed into the second quarter.

It seemed like everyone got in on the quarter-ending run. Erin Asher, a senior guard, started it with a three-pointer at the 4:19 mark. Mihalko hit a three of her own, while Weber, Nelson, Meriggioli and Ram each added two points to the charge.

CBU extended its lead out to 11, 41-30, by the end of the third quarter. Three-point shooting and defense gave CBU its first-half lead. The Lancers were 6-of-9 from deep and held APU to a 2-for-13 mark in the first half. Mihalko also got out to a hot start, scoring 17 first-half points on three three-pointers.  

The closest the game ever got Thursday was with 1:30 left in the game when APU pulled within five, 75-70, with a deep three-pointer.

That's when two of CBU's seniors took over.

Diaz brought the ball up the floor and took time off the clock before she dribbled around her defender, into the lane and then kicked the ball out to a wide-open Mihalko for a corner three. There seemed to be no doubt it was going in, as Mihalko's fifth three-pointer upped CBU's lead to eight, 78-70, with 1:10 to play.

It was far from the first time APU made a run at a comeback, but none of them ever seemed to be too credible up against the Lancers' experience and level headedness.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Cougars fought within 73-67 with 4:45 left. CBU missed its next two shots, but grabbed offensive rebounds on both, eventually leading to a Weber layup off a Diaz assist to make it 75-67 at the 4:16 mark.

CBU closed out the third quarter convincingly, as well. APU threatened to take the momentum into the fourth quarter when it sliced its deficit down to just five, 58-53, with 1:05 to play in the third.

Sixteen seconds later, CBU scored off a pick-and-roll, with Weber laying it in off a Diaz assist to keep an eight-point cushion. With 20 seconds left in the third, Mihalko drained a corner three in transition off a pass from Diaz, who also blocked APU's attempt at a buzzer beater to give the Lancers a 63-53 lead going into the fourth.

"We know APU always has a great crowd and plays great at home," Mihalko said. "We know it's a tough place to play, and this is my first time winning at APU in more four years at CBU.

"It was important that we kept our composure, kept our heads late in the game and finished it out."