AZUSA, CALIF. -- Azusa Pacific may never have had it as easy as it did tonight. The NAIA's No. 8-ranked Cougars scored the game's first 19 points and cruised on in for an easy 108-46 victory over Bethany College of Scotts Valley, Calif., in the opening round of the Southern California Shootout Wednesday night.

The result is indeed somewhat surprising when considering that just 2 weeks ago, Azusa Pacific beat this same Bethany team by just 13 points, 90-77, on this same court.

Tonight, however, was different from the start. The Cougars made 8 of their first 16 shots and held Bethany to an 0-for-8 start while inducing 9 turnovers in the first 9 minutes of play. The end result was a 19-0 Azusa Pacific lead at the 11:48 mark of the first half. Bethany didn't score its first basket until 11:27 when Wayeman Powell buried a baseline jumper. Azusa Pacific continued to roll and led 25-2 by the time Bethany's Dan Jensen made a 3-pointer with 10:07 left in the half.

The Cougars led 50-14 at halftime and pushed the lead to as many as 63 (104-41) before settling for the 62-point victory.

Freshman Scott Blake, who began the night with just 5 points in 8 game appearances this season, tallied a game-high 24 points, including 19 in the second half, thanks in part to a trio of treys. Senior 6-foot-10 center K.C. Tanner chipped in a season-high 13 points, including 5 that came as point guard where he nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key before driving the key for a lay-up the next time down court. Tanner also finished with a game-high 11 rebounds. All 10 Cougars who played scored, including 6 in double figures.

With the victory, the Cougars improve to 9-2 on the season and will meet Calvin College, which is ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division III, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday (Dec. 30) in the final round of the Shootout. Calvin suffered its first loss in 9 games this season, falling 72-65 in overtime to Biola. Biola and Bethany meet at 5 p.m. in Thursday's other game of the Southern California Shootout.