PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Senior Jeff Golden poured in a game-high 20 points while Gary Johnson and Larry Shelton added 13 each as Azusa Pacific bounced back from yesterday's defeat to beat Occidental College, 62-56, in the third-place game of the Grand Canyon Tournament, Saturday evening.

Behind Golden's play, Azusa Pacific moved out to a 33-26 lead at halftime and led by as much as 11 points in the second half before Occidental, led by Blake Withers' 16 points, rallied to within 3 points with just 3 minutes left in the game.  However, the Cougars kept the Tigers at bay and held on for the victory.  The Cougars, who shot 50% (27-for-54) from the floor, nonetheless allowed the Tigers to say in the game by  missing 12-of-20 free throws.

Junior Jeff Wheeler tallied a team-high 9 assists.  Shelton, who was named all-tournament for his 2-game play, grabbed 9 rebounds.  Tournament host Grand Canyon won the the tourney title with a 56-46 victory over Western Montana.

With the victory, Azusa Pacific improves to 8-3 on the season while Occidental falls to 1-6.  The Tigers' only victory to date was a 63-60 decision over APC in Eagle Rock two weeks ago.  the Cougars's victory also evens the all-time series with Oxy at 5-5, with this meeting the first ever in tournament play.

Azusa Pacific (62)            Occidental (56)
            fg   ft  tp                   fg   ft  tp
Shelton      6  1-2  13       Kolodinski   2  2-2   6
Golden      10  0-1  20       Withers      5  6-7  16
Anderson     2  0-0   4       Johnson      3  0-0   6
Johnson      4  5-6  13       Glidden      3  0-0   6
Wheeler      1  1-1   3       Hall         4  0-2   8
Barnes       2  1-4   5       Traweak      1  2-2   4
Moses        2  0-2   4       Hume         2  0-0   4
McDonough    0  0-2   0       Norris       2  2-3   6
 Totals     27  8-20 62        Totals     22 12-16 56

Azusa Pacific  ....... 33  29  --  62  (8-3)
Occidental     ....... 26  30  --  56  (1-6)

Total Fouls:  AP 20, Oxy 18  Fouled Out:  Anderson
Technical:  Shelton