AZUSA, CALIF. -- In the biggest game of the year, All-American candidate T.J. Walker (Modesto, Calif./Modesto HS) stepped up to carry the Cougars on his shoulders and lead the NAIA's No. 5-ranked Azusa Pacific to an 89-76 victory over No. 8-ranked Biola in a Golden State Athletic Conference game in Azusa, Saturday.

Just a 6-2 junior guard, Walker scored a career-high 31 points, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, tallied 7 assists and snagged 5 steals to lead Azusa Pacific to its second victory over the top-10 ranked Eagles this season. Walker, who entered the game averaging a team-best 15.6 points a game, becomes the first Cougar since Raymond Tutt in 1995 to register a 30-point game.

"I was in the flow tonight," said Walker. "I didn't play very well at their place 3 weeks ago, but I came out to play tonight. My family was here, and I wanted to go off in front of my dad."

Walker had 20 in the first half alone. With 7 points of his own, he spurred a 22-3 Cougar run over a 6-minute period to jettison Azusa Pacific to a 29-9 lead less than 8 minutes into the game. Biola cut the lead to 12 at 39-27 with 6:24 remaining before the Cougars answered with a 10-3 run to push the lead back to 19. Biola shot 50% (11-for-22) in the first half but Azusa Pacific crushed the Eagles on the boards, out-rebounding Biola 21-9, thus explaining the Cougars' additional 15 shots.

Jack Hartman led Biola with 29 points on 9-for-12 shooting. The Eagles rallied to within 69-62 with 9:35 to play in the game. But Walker ignited another Cougar run, a 10-5 version, to put the Cougars back up at 78-67 with 5:51 remaining.

"That was an 'A' performance by our starters tonight," said Cougar coach Bill Odell. "We had to exploit mismatches. T.J. set the defensive tempo tonight and took over the game in the second half."

The Cougars shot just 29% (7-for-24) in the second half, but they converted 28-of-33 (85%) free throws for the game and out-rebounded Biola, 37-25.

Cougar senior forward Micah Sullivan (Ellensburg, Wash./Ellensburg HS) played his best game of the GSAC season, recording 15 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Senior forward Jeremy DeVries (Mt. Vernon, Wash./Mt. Vernon HS) added 14 points, thanks in part to 4-for-5 shooting from the 3-point arc.

Azusa Pacific is now 10-1 vs. Biola since 1994. Additionally, the Cougars are now 82-7 in the Cougardome since 1992.

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 24-4 overall, and remains atop the GSAC, tied with Westmont, at 9-1. Biola falls to 22-4 overall, 7-3 in the GSAC.