LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team came up short Tuesday in a home contest with Azusa Pacific.

The Golden Eagles were able to whittle a 16-point deficit down to one point early in the second half, but couldn't get any closer and dropped an 81-71 decision to the Cougars in University Gym. Cal State LA (2-3) saw its two-game winning streak end, whlie Azusa Pacific (1-4) won for the first time in the midst of a tough early-season schedule.

Adrease Jackson had an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Golden Eagles, while Elisha Duplechan had 15 points and four assists. Dominic Escobar also reached double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Justin Hemsley had a game-high 20 points for Azusa Pacific, while Ken West had 13 points and five rebounds.

Trevor Thompson scored nine points for the Golden Eagles, while hitting three 3-pointers and Ben Uloko had eight points and seven rebounds.

Cal State LA shot 45.9 percent for the game (28-of-61) and was 9-of-21 from 3-point range (42.9 percent). Azusa Pacific, meanwhile, shot 41.2 percent for the game (28-of-68) and made 12-of-33 from 3-point range. The Cougars were also 13-of-16 from the free-throw line, while the Golden Eagles were 6-of-8. Azusa Pacific had a 42-32 rebounding edge and committed only five turnovers to 12 for the Golden Eagles.

A layup by Duplechan gave the Golden Eagles their only lead of the game, 7-6, but that was followed by a quick 8-0 burst by Azusa Pacific that gave the Cougars the lead for good. Cal State LA trailed by as many as 16 points, 35-19, before cutting the lead down to seven points by halftime thanks to an offensive rebound basket by Uloko, a jumper by Jackson, a 3-pointer by Escobar and a jumper by Duplechan that made it 41-34 at the break.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Alexander Sokol to open the second half cut the deficit to 41-40, but that's as close as the Golden Eagles would get. An offensive rebound basket by Uloko kept the margin at 44-42 and a 3-pointer by Thompson kept it at 55-49 with 13:39 to go, but the Cougars scored the next eight points to take a 63-49 lead. A pair of free throws by Jackson made it 63-54 with 10 minutes to go, but that's as close as the Golden Eagles would get.

Cal State LA will return to action on Saturday in the CCAA opener at Cal State San Marcos.