TULSA, OKLA. -- Junior guard T.J. Walker sank 2 free throws with 7 seconds remaining to lead top-seeded Azusa Pacific to a 66-62 victory over No. 9 seed University of the Incarnate Word of Austin, Tex., in quarterfinal action at the NAIA Championship Tournament Friday afternoon.

The win improves the Cougars' record to 34-4, and sends Azusa Pacific into the NAIA semifinals for the first time ever. Azusa Pacific meets No. 4 seed Georgetown (Ky.), Saturday (March 21) at 4 p.m. (PST).

After taking an early 5-0 lead, Azusa Pacific found itself trailing throughout most of the game.

"I'd like to say I wasn't concerned, and that I knew we were going to comeback," said Cougar coach Bill Odell. "But, yes, I was getting concerned."

With Incarnate Word leading 42-35 with 15:35 left in the game, Azusa Pacific went on a 13-4 run capped by Corey Smith's 22-foot 3-pointer that gave the Cougars a 48-46 lead with 11:19 to play. The Cougars pushed their cushion to 7 points at 64-57 on a T.J. Walker driving lay-up with 1:37 to play. However, IWU rallied to within 64-62 with 31 seconds to play and had possession of the ball. The Crusaders freed Kevin O'Neill, who was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc up to that point. However, his 3-point shot was off the mark, and Walker corralled the rebound, dribbled into the front court and was fouled.

Walker, a 68% free throw shooter, calmly sank both attempts with 7.2 seconds left to ice the 4-point win, the Cougars' 17th straight which breaks the school record of 16 consecutive wins set by the 1993 Cougars.

"I struggled with free throw shooting a bit this season, but I knew that our season was riding on those free throws," said Walker, who finished with 10 points, including 6 in the final 5:50 of the game.

Azusa Pacific led the entire first 2 games of the tournament, a 104-44 win over Huston-Tillotson in the first round and a 70-62 win over Transylvania in the second round. However in this contest, the Cougars trailed for much of it, and were down by as much 8 points (30-22).

"We seemed to run out of gas in the middle of the second half," said Incarnate Word coach Danny Casper. "I felt the game was ours to have, and we just didn't get it done. Conditioning had something to do with that. Depth played a large role in the loss for us."

The Cougars were led by Jeremy DeVries' game-high 21 points, thanks in part to 5-for-9 shooting from the 3-point arc. He finished with an 8-for-13 clip overall, a fine turnaround from yesterday's 2-for-7 effort.

"Against Transylvania I forced my shots, but today I was better focused and did a better job of playing my game," said DeVries. "When I get better looks, I hit them more often."

With the score 57-53, the Crusaders hit a 3-pointer to pull within 1, but Cougar guard Andy Newman stuck a dagger through their heart, nailing another 3-pointer for a 60-56 lead at the 5:19 mark. Newman followed that with a short jumper, and Walker added a jumper to give the Cougars their biggest lead, 64-57.

"We know as seniors that any game here can be our last," said Getz, who finished with 10 rebounds. "I wasn't about to end my career today."