AZUSA, CALIF. -- The NAIA's No. 6-ranked Azusa Pacific shot a season-low 40% from the field and went through dry spells in its offense and yet still managed an 86-76 victory over Concordia University of Portland, Ore., in Monday night's first round action of the Cougar Classic in Azusa.

Junior guard T.J. Walker scored a team-high 18 points, including 13 in the second half to help Azusa Pacific avoid a major upset.

Concordia surprisingly held the lead at the half, using a 14-0 run over the final 3:12 to assume a 38-37 cushion heading into the locker-room. The Cavaliers forced 5 of the Cougars' 9 first-half turnovers in that final 3 minutes while Azusa Pacific also missed its last 3 shots. The Cougars led 37-24 after clicking off a 10-0 run of their own and appeared to have control of the game before the wheels fell off just prior to half-time.

"We have to understand that people aren't going to come into our gym and roll over," said Azusa Pacific coach Bill Odell. "Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call for future games, and that we'll know that we have to go into each game with more intensity than we played with tonight."

Azusa Pacific used an 8-2 run at the start of the second half to take a 45-40 lead less than 3 minutes into the half. However, the Cougars couldn't shake Concordia, which never regained the lead and yet stayed within 5 points of Azusa Pacific for 12 minutes of the second half.

It was with 8 minutes left in the game that the Cougars went on a 7-0 run, sparked by a Matt Reed dunk and capped by a Jason Boswell 3-pointer to give the Cougars a somewhat comfortable 71-61 cushion with 6:23 left to play. The Cavaliers never got any closer than 6 points the rest of the way.

Concordia, which falls to 5-5 on the season, was paced by Alphonso Niles' tournament-highs 30 points and 18 rebounds. Chris Swallom added 20 points and 6 assists. The Cavaliers will meet Western State College of Colorado at 5 p.m. (PST) in Tuesday's consolation championship.

Azusa Pacific improves to 12-2 this season (149-37 since 1993) and will meet NAIA power The Master's in Tuesday's championship game at 7:30 p.m. in Azusa.