TULSA, OKLA. – Faulkner University took full advantage of its quickness and deep bench, and for the second time in as many years, ended Azusa Pacific's season with a 79-75 victory in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Championship Tournament.
 
Faulkner's Kellen Cole led a sharp-shooting perimeter game, in which the Eagles drained 8-of-15 shot from the 3-point line.  They quickly turned a 1-point halftime advantage into a 10-point lead by hitting 7 of their first 9 shots of the second half, including all attempts beyond the 3-point arc.  Cole scored 8 of his 10 points during that stretch, burying 2 treys in the process.  Azusa Pacific never led in the second half.
 
"They out-hustled us and out-quicked us," said Cougar coach Bill Odell, "and we didn't have an answer for it."
 
Faulkner led by as much as 10 points on a couple of occasions in the second half, the last coming at the 8-minute mark when Treives Henry nailed a trey from the top of the key to put the Eagles up 67-57.
 
Azusa Pacific went to work and rallied back to within 4 at 69-65 after Justin Leslie hit a 3-pointer with 5:34 left in the game.  However, the Cougars failed to convert on a couple of late possessions, and Faulkner made 6-of-8 free throws in a 90-second span to keep the Cougars at bay.
 
"We had some good looks that we needed to knock down and we didn't," said Odell.  "We had our opportunities, but we didn't play as well as we needed to.  They certainly did.  They are a very good basketball team."
 
Faulkner forward Paul Little, the tourney's leading scorer thus far, tallied a game-high 24 points, including 16 in the first half.
 
"We talked about doing what we could to stop Little," said Leslie.  "The bottom line is it just didn't happen."
 
Unlike last night when the Cougars converted 65% of their first-half shots against Oklahoma City, Azusa Pacific made just 12 of its first 28 shots tonight and found itself down 35-34 at halftime.  The 2 teams traded leads 8 times and tied the game on 5 other occasions in the opening half.  Azusa Pacific carved a pair of 6-points leads, the last coming at the 5:15 mark when it held a 29-23 cushion.  
 
Faulkner went on an 8-2 run to tie the game at 31-31 on a Little 3-pointer, and then took the lead for good on a Rodney Keener 3-ball to go up 35-33 with 2:39 left in the half.  Stretched across both halves, Faulkner used an 18-5 run to take control of the game.
 
Leslie and Caleb Gervin led a balanced Cougar attack with 17 points each.  John Bourne had 16 points, and Steve McIlwain added 10, all in the first half.  The Cougars committed a season-low 7 turnovers.
 
The loss not only ends Azusa Pacific's national championship hopes, but it also snaps the Cougars' program-record 21-game winning streak.  The Cougars are handed their first loss since falling 78-67 to Biola on Jan. 4.
 
Azusa Pacific ends its season with a 35-3 record, best in program history.  Faulkner advances to the NAIA Final Four for the first time in school history and will take a 32-5 record into Monday's semifinal game against Pikeville (Ky.) College.