AZUSA, CALIF. – The NAIA's No. 8-ranked Azusa Pacific built up a 26-point lead with just over 9 minutes remaining, then held off a furious charge by NCAA Div. II Cal State-Los Angeles to hang on for an 80-67 victory, the Cougars' 13th consecutive win despite missing 3 key players.
 
Sophomore Jeff Staniland scored 12 of his game-high 19 points in the first half, leading the Cougars to a 42-27 halftime advantage. Azusa Pacific scored 22 of the first 33 points in the second half to take its largest lead of the game (26 points), 64-38 with 10:30 left in the contest.
 
"We knew that Quincy Stinston was one of the best point guards around," said Staniland. "It was easy to get up for this game, because I knew I was going up against the best. We took it to him and got him into foul trouble. We knew they would put tough pressure on us, and this was a good win to send us into conference play."
 
A pair of Steve McIlwain free throws with 9:07 to play gave the Cougars a 67-41 lead, but the Golden Eagles whittled away at the lead over the next 8 minutes to cut the lead to just 10 points at 73-63 with 1:11 remaining.
 
"(Cal State-LA) got a lot more aggressive, and teams will do that when their backs are against the wall," said Cougar head coach Bill Odell. "They played a lot better defensively."
 
McIlwain and Caleb Gervin combined to sink 7 free throws in the final 69 seconds to hang on for the win. McIlwain was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line, finishing with 17 points, while Gervin finished with 14 points and a game-high 4 assists.
 
Meanwhile, junior forward John Bourne put together a solid effort against a tough Golden Eagle frontline, tallying his first career double-double with a 17-point, 12-rebound performance. Senior Justin Leslie scored just 4 points, but provided 7 rebounds and a season-high 4 blocks, all in the first half.
 
"It was a very physical game tonight," said Odell. "For stamina purposes and size, we had to go to a zone defense tonight. We got off to a really good start and that was a key for us."
 
After CSLA battled to within 25-21 with 5:32 to play in the first half, McIlwain drained 2 3-pointers and sank a pair of free throws in a 17-6 Cougar run to close out the half.
 
Backup big men Gary Dredge and Jedidiah Hall were forced to sit out due to injury, and starting forward Anthony Haggins has been declared temporarily ineligible.
 
Azusa Pacific improves to 13-1 on the season, while Cal State LA falls to 5-4. The 13-point defeat is the worst defeat suffered by the Golden Eagles this season.