AZUSA, CALIF. -- Just as it has all season, the NAIA's No. 10-ranked Azusa Pacific relied on the clutch play of its seniors to hang on for a 99-94 GSAC victory over Concordia Saturday night.

Kevin Daley and Jerome Joseph combined for 57 points, including 37 in the second half, and along with fellow senior Damian Raibon, scored the final 27 points for the Cougars.

"In the first half, I missed a couple of easy shots that I usually make," said Daley. "I tried to come out in rhythm in the second half and shoot a little more off the pass instead of trying to create shots by myself."

Joseph scored the first 4 points of the second half, and Daley hit his third 3-pointer of the night, giving the Cougars their largest lead at 53-37 with 17:54 to play in the game.

The Eagles would not let the game slip away, however, led by a pair of its own seniors, Josh Giles and Joel Burgess, who each poured in 22 points in the second half. Giles finished with a game-high 31 points, while Daley led the Cougars with 29 points. Joseph added 28 points and 6 rebounds, and Raibon tallied 13 points, a game-high 9 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

"On defense, our whole team was sticking together," said Raibon. "I don't think it was just me, I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. I think it helped pump us up and get us going a little bit."

Burgess, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored 9 points of a 13-5 run that cut the Cougar lead to 81-76 with 6:26 remaining in the game. Burgess also scored 4 points in a 7-0 run that brought the Eagles to within 3 points at 88-85, but Daley and Joseph scored the Cougars' final 11 points to preserve the win.

"We just tried to come out and make plays down the stretch," said Joseph.

Azusa Pacific committed a season-low 8 turnovers in the game and shot at a 60.7% (17-for-28) clip from the field in the second half.

The Cougars jumped out to a 7-2 lead after a Raibon layup with 18:05 to play in the half, but the Cougars would not lead by more than 6 in the half until Joseph nailed his second 3-pointer of the game, giving the Cougars a 42-35 lead with 1:09 left in the half. The Cougars scored the last 7 points of the first half to take a 46-35 lead into the intermission.

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves 24-4 overall and 14-2 in the GSAC to remain in a first-place tie with Biola. Concordia falls to 15-12 overall and 7-9 in GSAC play