AZUSA, CALIF. – The mystique continues.
 
Not even a change in environment can stop Azusa Pacific's winning ways.  The No. 8-ranked Cougars used a 13-3 run in the final 5 minutes to overcome a 7-point deficit and beat The Master's College, 72-67, in Azusa Pacific's first-ever game in the Richard and Vivian Felix Event Center.
 
John Bourne's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:14 left in the game capped a run that gave the
Cougars a 68-65 cushion for their first lead since the 9:22 mark.
 
"I knew that (Jacy) Armbruster was trailing me on the motion offense all night and wasn't playing my outside shot," said Bourne.  "Jeff (Staniland) set a perfect screen, I was in rhythm and shot it."
 
From there the Cougars never let go of the lead.  A Staniland conventional 3-point play off a lay-up and a fifth foul on Armbruster gave Azusa Pacific an insurmountable 71-67 lead with 24 seconds remaining.
 
"This game was about energy," said Cougar coach Bill Odell.  "We didn't have it early, probably because of nerves, had it late in the first half and got it again late in the game.  When (Steve)  McIlwain hit the 3-pointer from the corner, I saw the energy drain out of them."

The Cougars appeared to be dead in the water with 7 minutes left, trailing 59-52.  Three fouls, a turnover and 5 straight missed shots, including an ill-advised 3-pointer by Caleb Gervin, put the Cougars in a deep hole.
 
After a time-out, McIlwain hit a trey from the corner that signaled the beginning of the game-winning run.  Gervin made up for his shooting mistake with a steal of a Todd Whittington pass at the top of the key and followed with a lay-up that knotted the game at 65 with 2:42 to play.  Eighty-eight seconds later, Bourne nailed the go-ahead three.
 
McIlwain, who had started the past 3 games, came off the bench tonight to score a team-high 19 points, including 7 in the final 6 minutes.
 
"You want that kind of spark off the bench," said Odell.  "You don't necessarily want the best 5 players out there but rather the best combinations at the right time.  McIlwain really lit it up tonight."
 
Azusa Pacific appeared to be in control at halftime, using a 12-2 run late in the first half to assume a 39-30 halftime lead.  The Cougars pushed the lead to 11 early in the second half before the Mustangs wiped it away with an 11-0 sprint in less than 2 minutes to knot the game at 41-41.
 
Bourne then hit a back-to-back jumpers, including his first trey of the game, to put the Cougars back up at 46-41.  Yet, the Mustangs would never fade away.
 
Behind Tyler Hoffman's game-high 20 points, The Master's battled back, and when Hoffman buried a trey in transition the Mustangs found themselves up 56-52 for their biggest lead since holding a 17-12 advantage early in the game.
 
Bourne finished with 17 points and a team-best 8 rebounds.  Gervin and Staniland each tallied 14 points.
 
Azusa Pacific, which was 128-10 over the past 8 years in its former home – the Cougardome – is now a perfect 1-0 in the Felix Event Center.  The Cougars have won 10 straight on the season and improve to 10-1.  Meanwhile, The Master's, which is 4-6 vs. GSAC teams this year, falls to 8-6.