AZUSA, Calif. – There have been prettier victories in the past 21 games with Fresno Pacific, but no matter how ugly it got Azusa Pacific head coach Bill Odell and the Cougars will take tonight's 93-84 win over the Sunbirds.
 
The win is the Cougars' 21^st consecutive victory over the Sunbirds, who have not defeated the Cougars since 1992.  In 10 seasons at the helm, Odell is 22-1 against Fresno Pacific.
 
Senior Steve McIlwain netted a game-high 18 points, hitting 7 of his 8 shots from the floor to pace the Cougars, who clung to an 8-point halftime advantage before blowing the game wide at the start of the second half.  Only a late flurry by the Sunbirds kept the scoreboard closer than the game actually was.
 
Out of the locker room, the Cougars, aided by 5 points from Jeff Staniland, opened the second half with an 11-0 run to take a 55-36 lead with 16:49 to play.  The Sunbirds climbed to within 9 points (65-56) with an 18-10 spurt over a 5:19 span.  However, the Cougars again responded with a huge 23-9 run over 6:08 to take a 21-point lead (88-67) and put the game away with 5:10 to play.
 
In the first 20 minutes, Fresno Pacific refused to go away, actually taking 5 leads throughout the first half.  The Sunbirds largest lead came with 4:52 to go when Joe'l Sligh converted a 3-point play giving the Sunbirds a 32-29. 
 
From there, the Cougars exploded on a 14-5 Cougar run to close the half, highlighted by 5 points from McIlwain and a half-court bomb by Anthony Haggins as the buzzer sounded, giving the Cougars a 44-36 halftime advantage, their largest of the half.
 
The Cougars ended the night shooting 60% from the floor, hitting 35-of-58 shots, including 8-of-20 from beyond the arc. However, the Cougars were less than admirable from the free throw line, connecting on just 15-of-26 shots. Fresno Pacific shot 56% (32-for-57) from the floor and committed 18 turnovers.
 
Five Cougars hit double figures, led by McIlwain's 18.  Caleb Gervin had 13.  Mark Gulina and Haggins each chipped in with 12, and senior center Gary Dredge ended the night with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Haggins ended the night with 10 assists.
 
With the victory, Azusa Pacific improves to 12-2 overall, 4-1 GSAC while the Sunbirds fall to 4-12, 0-6.  The Cougars return to action on Saturday (Jan. 5) when they travel to Irvine to face Concordia at 7:30 p.m.