MONTGOMERY, Ala. – It looked like the monkey was going cling to Azusa Pacific's back when a 23-point lead with just over 11 minutes left in the game dwindled to just 5 points with 3 minutes remaining.  However, the NAIA's No. 9-ranked Cougars made free throws down the stretch, came up with 3 key defensive stops and prevailed for a 79-68 victory over the defending NAIA champion Faulkner University to close out the Charles Mills Classic Tuesday evening.
 
The victory is the first in 3 meetings with the Eagles, who have ended Azusa Pacific's season each of the past 2 years, including in the quarterfinals of last year's NAIA Tournament.  The result was indeed impressive and relieving for Azusa Pacific, which has struggled to put together complete-game efforts this season.
 
Azusa Pacific, which led 49-28 at the half and was still up by 23 (61-38) with 11:14 to play when the Cougars got a taste of Southern cooking.  An odd assortment of calls and no-calls by the officials got the game and the Cougars out of rhythm, and Faulkner took advantage, going on a 28-10 run in less than 8 minutes to pull to within 5 at 71-66 with just over 3 minutes to play.  However, Cougars Jeff Staniland and Steve McIlwain maintained Azusa Pacific's composure at the line, burying 8 straight free throws in the final 2:27 as Faulkner missed 5 consecutive shots to seal the victory for Azusa Pacific. 
 
For the seventh consecutive game, a different Cougar led the team in scoring.  McIlwain topped the team with 16 points followed by John Bourne's 14 and Staniland's 13.  Senior center Gary Dredge added 8 points (all in the first half) to go along with a game- and season-high 10 rebounds.  Faulkner was paced by Kellen Cole's 18 points, thanks in part to a trio of second-half 3-pointers that spurred the Eagle comeback.
 
"We were focused tonight," Cougar coach Bill Odell said.  "This is a game the guys have been looking forward to for a year, and it showed in their play.  We made the extra pass tonight and knocked down our shots.  And we played very well on defense."
 
The first 30 minutes of the game was all Azusa Pacific.  The Cougars knocked down 12 of their first 17 shots, including 5 treys, to jettison to a 28-14 lead, capped by Caleb Gervin's off-balance 7-foot running jumper.  Gervin led Azusa Pacific's first-half offensive parade with 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting, which included a pair of 3-pointers, one from 22 feet that gave the Cougars their first 20-point lead at 41-21.  In all, Azusa Pacific made 20-of-37 shots (54%) in the opening frame while holding Faulkner to just 36% (11-of-31) shooting while inducing 9 turnovers.
 
The Cougar onslaught continued well into the second half as Azusa Pacific kept Faulkner at bay with timely buckets, including Mark Gulina's 3-pointer that pushed the Cougar lead to 23 at 61-38.
 
The final 10 minutes was a mad rush of helter-skelter play in which the Eagles forced some key Azusa Pacific turnovers while the game moved to a new level of physical play.  Nonetheless, the Cougars held on to pick up their third victory this season over a member of the Georgia-Alabama-Carolina Conference, generally regarded as one of the NAIA's premier basketball conferences.
 
With the victory Azusa Pacific improves to 10-2 while Faulkner falls to 6-5.