AZUSA, CALIF. -- No matter the records or place in the standings, Azusa Pacific and Concordia play it to the wire, and Tuesday's Golden State Athletic Conference game in Azusa was no different. For the fifth straight time, the game was decided by 8 or less points, and for the fifth straight time, Azusa Pacific won, beating Concordia, 74-71.

The NAIA's No. 5-ranked Azusa Pacific scored 6 of the game's final 8 points in the last 2 minutes to overcome its own sluggish performance to win its 6th in a row. Junior guard T.J. Walker (Modesto, Calif./Modesto HS) led Azusa Pacific with a game-high 21 points, including 6 in the last 5 minutes.

"Let's never play like that again,'" said Azusa Pacific coach Bill Odell. "We'll take a win any way we can at this point. We played poorly mentally, and we played poorly physically."

In a game that closely resembled the first meeting between these 2 teams earlier this season in Irvine, Concordia controlled the first half and led by as much as 9 points at 36-27 with 3:22 left in the half. A lackluster set of Cougars made just 13-of-31 (42%) first-half shots, while the Eagles sizzled the net with an 18-for-31 (58%) pace that included a quartet of 3-pointers.

There were 16 lead changes, including 11 in the second half. The Cougars never had more than a 2-point lead until the last 80 seconds of play. Azusa Pacific took the lead for good at 70-69 when Walker hit a running jumper in the lane with exactly 2 minutes to play.

"There's not a guy in this locker room who is proud of the way we played tonight," said Cougar forward Jeremy DeVries, who tossed in 19 points and came up with 2 key steals in the final 90 seconds. "Concordia always plays us tough, and for some reason we can't get up for them. Maybe we were looking ahead." (Azusa Pacific plays No. 8-ranked Biola Saturday night.)

Concordia, which committed 23 turnovers to offset a 56% (30-for-55) shooting clip, was paced by Josh Giles (Glendora, Calif./Glendora HS), who tossed in 18 points, but only 4 in the second half.

The win pushes Azusa Pacific's record to 23-4 overall and keeps the Cougars in a 2-way tie atop the GSAC at 8-1. Concordia falls to 12-14 overall, 3-6 in the GSAC.