AZUSA, CALIF. -- Azusa Pacific, ranked No. 8 in  the NAIA, won its fifth Cougar Classic and its second in a row with an easy 81-56 victory over Christian Heritage, Friday night in Azusa.

The 25-point victory was the result of a stifling Cougar defense that forced 25 Christian Heritage turnovers and that held the Hawks to 38.7% (29-for-75) shooting from the floor.

Azusa Pacific used a 13-0 run over an 8-minute span to take a 24-12 lead with 8:14 left in the first half.  During its dry run, Christian Heritage, which made 6 of its first 8 shots, missed 11 straight shots to allow the Cougars to take control of the game.  Junior center Nate Getz spurred the run with 5 consecutive points.  He finished the game with 11 points and 3 blocked shots to lead hte Cougars to a tourney record 9 blocked shots for the game.

Senior guard Matt Zaengle scored all of his game-high 19 points in the second half as the Cougars ran away from Christian Heritage, which got no closer than 11 points (40-29) early in the second half.

"It was a great defensive game," said Cougar Head Coach Bill Odell.  "I've told this team all along that for us to be successful we must play very solid defense.  I felt very good about our effort tonight.  Our defense picked us up and gets the momentum going, and we need that because our offense gets stagnant."

Spatticus Thomas and Joshua Layton each has 12 points for Christian Heritage.  For the Cougars, Dameon Page was named the tournament's most valuable payer, while Getz and Zaengle were both named all-tourney.

The victory was Azusa Pacific's 11th straight over Christian Heritage and improved the Cougars record to 2-0 on the young season, while Christian Heritage falls to 4-2.

ALL-COUGAR CLASSIC TEAM
Marc Williams - Holy Names
Beau Sager - Christian Heritage
Josh Layton - Christian Heritage
Nate Getz - Azusa Pacific
Matt Zaengle - Azusa Pacific

MVP
Dameon Page - Azusa Pacific