MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Juniors Jeff Staniland and Mark Gulina combined for 35 points and 16 rebounds to lead the NAIA's No. 9-ranked Azusa Pacific to an 82-67 victory over national power Auburn-Montgomery in the first round of the Charles Mills Classic on the campus of Faulkner University.
 
Staniland was near perfect in his effort tonight, tallying a game- and season-high 18 points on the strength of 6-for-6 shooting, including a trio from the 3-point arc.  He also snagged a career-high 9 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and 3 steals.
 
"I felt good tonight," said Staniland.  "I really wanted to come back and get on track after The Master's game where I think I shot 2-for-11.  The only way to get out of a slump is to keep shooting and be aggressive.  And we saw what could happen if we played hard defense and executed on offense."
 
Meanwhile, playing in front of his family for the first time this season, Gulina, out of nearby Greenwell Springs, La., scored 10 of his 17 points in the first half to pace the Cougars to a 41-32 halftime lead.  The Cougars trailed by as much as 7 points (14-7) in the early going, until Gulina ignited a 12-4 run, scoring 5 points in the run that eventually gave the Cougars their first lead of the game at 19-18 on an Anthony Haggins lay-up with 10:18 remaining.  Haggins then gave Azusa Pacific the lead for good on a jumper with just over 7 minutes to play, part of a 7-2 run that pushed the Cougar cushion to 28-23.
 
"Mark really sparked us throughout the game," Odell added.  "He definitely played his best game of the season."
 
Steve McIlwain added 12 points and John Bourne chipped in 10 more to give Azusa Pacific the victory over the defending Georgia-Alabama-Carolina Conference co-champion and an NAIA Tourney qualifier last year.
 
Auburn-Montgomery got as close at 8 points in the second half before Gulina scored 7 straight points, capped by a baseline reverse dunk that pushed the Azusa Pacific lead to an insurmountable 67-53 margin with 6:38 left in the game.
 
"As the season continues, I feel a little more comfortable," added Gulina, a transfer from Southeastern Louisiana.  "My teammates really helped me get into the game tonight.  I've had 3 years off, so every game I'm learning something new, improving and getting into playing shape."
 
The Cougars, who committed a hefty 13 turnovers in the first half, vastly improved their execution in the second half with just 3 miscues in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
While Gulina and Staniland took care off the offense, the entire Cougar team locked down the Senators, limiting AUM to just 39% (27-for-69) shooting and forcing it into a season-high 22 turnovers.  Torey Harris, who came into the game with an NAIA-leading 34.8 scoring average, was held to just 17 points on 6-for-24 shooting, including a paltry 3-for-15 effort at the 3-point line.  Harris missed 10 of his first 11 shots and never found his touch until the game was out of hand.
 
"Anytime you know who is going to put the shot up, it helps," said Cougar coach Bill Odell in reference to Harris' and Rod Shiver's combined 13-for-38 effort.  "Haggins did a real good job defensively on Harris.  We knew the ball was going to go up when certain people had it, so we were able to key our defense on that.  We used good defense to spark offensive runs."
 
With the win Azusa Pacific improves to 9-2 on the season while Auburn-Montgomery falls to 3-3.  The Cougars will meet defending NAIA champion Faulkner Tuesday (Dec. 18) to close out the tournament.