AZUSA, CALIF. -- The NAIA's No. 6-ranked Azusa Pacific captured its second straight Southern California Shoot-Out championship with a 94-80 victory over NCAA Division II No. 20-ranked Cal Poly Pomona Saturday night in Azusa.

Tournament MVP T.J. Walker led Azusa Pacific through deep waters in the second half and finished the game with 13 points, a game-high 9 assists and 3 steals. Cougar centers Nate Getz (starter) and Bryan Lucas (reserve) each tallied team-high 16 points, with Getz adding a team-high 9 rebounds as well.

"I knew I had to run the offense," said Walker, "and tonight that meant I had to shoot a lot to keep the offense going. It seems that if I get going then every one else feeds off of that. This whole tourney was about getting back into the win column as we go into the Christmas break. We knew Cal Poly was more physical and athletic than the teams we played earlier in the tourney. But we stepped up our level of play."

Azusa Pacific squandered an 18-point half-time lead, allowing Cal Poly to trim the cushion to just 5 points at 75-70 with 6:26 left in the game. From there the team's traded baskets until Walker came up with his biggest steal of the game to seal the victory. With Cal Poly looking to pull to within 5, Walker stripped Bronco guard Mark Yeater and went coast-to-coast to dish the ball off to a trailing Getz, who converted the lay-up and was fouled by Yeater. Getz made the free throw to put Azusa Pacific back up by 10 points, 89-79 with 1:37 left.

"T.J. plays to the level of his opponent," said Cougar coach Bill Odell. "He didn't shoot great, but he knew what he needed to do and did it and was a great catalyst out there."

All-tourney pick Terryl Woolery led Cal Poly for the third straight game with a game-high 22 points, including 18 in the second half, to lead an 11-2 Bronco charge to start the second half and get Cal Poly back in the game.

The Cougars broke open a tight game with an 19-4 run midway through the first half to take a commanding 35-19 lead. Lucas scored 8 points during the run and keyed a Cougar defense that held the Broncos to just 2-for-9 shooting and 3 turnovers during the run.

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 10-2 on the season and collects its third tourney championship this season. Cal Poly falls to 7-3.
 

APPLEBEE'S SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SHOOT-OUT
Thursday, Dec. 18, First-Round Results
Azusa Pacific 102, Bellevue (Neb.) 61
Christian Heritage 97, Albertson (Ida.), 94 OT
Humboldt State 79, Western Washington 66
Cal Poly Pomona 97, St. Martin's (Wash.) 72

Friday, Dec. 19, Second-Round Results
Albertson 89, Bellevue 67
Western Washington 80 St. Martin's 64
Cal Poly Pomona 87, Humboldt State 81
Azusa Pacific 106, Christian Heritage 75

Saturday, Dec. 20, Final Round Pairings
Bellevue 88, St. Martin's 80
Albertson 100, Western Washington 87
Christian Heritage 82, Humboldt State 80
Azusa Pacific 94, Cal Poly Pomona 80

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
T.J. Walker, Azusa Pacific (MVP)
Jason Boswell, Azusa Pacific
Nate Getz, Azusa Pacific
Shane Lantz, Cal Poly Pomona
Terryl Woolery, Cal Poly Pomona
Paul Burgess, Humboldt State
Josh Layton, Christian Heritage
Evertt Ratleff, Albertson