IRVINE, Calif. – Master -- Mentor.  The script has been written many times before, and once again the master prevailed, but he had to sweat a little more this time.
 
The NAIA's No. 9-ranked Azusa Pacific used a massive offensive outburst midway through the second half to break open a tight game and post an 84-62 GSAC road victory over Concordia Saturday night. 
 
The first-ever head-to-head meeting between Azusa Pacific head coach Bill Odell and his former assistant of the past 2 seasons, Concordia's Ken Ammann, was a vintage GSAC battle – for the first 30 minutes.  The 2 squads were knotted 6 times and neither team could manage anything better than a 7-point cushion by the midway point of the second half.  However, the Cougars caught eventually caught fire and ran away from Concordia in the closing 10 minutes.
 
For the second consecutive game, 5 different Cougars scored in double figures, paced once again by senior guard Steve McIlwain, who tossed in 15 points, thanks in part to a 7-for-7 effort at the line.  His backcourt mate Jeff Staniland added 13 while Anthony Haggins and Caleb Gervin added 12 each off the bench.  All-American John Bourne contributed 10 points, while Gary Dredge continued the stretch of the best play of his 4-year career with 9 points and 9 rebounds.
 
"I thought Concordia did a great job defensively against us," said Odell, "of course they knew a lot about us because of Ken.  But they were physical and made us tentative tonight."
 
Down 38-37 4 minutes into the second half, the Cougars put the pedal to the mettle and produced a 23-7 run to assume a 60-45 lead with 9 minutes remaining.  The explosion was ignited by a 5-point possession in which McIlwain nailed a trey from the right wing just before Anthony Haggins was fouled under the bucket.  Haggens converted the 1-and-1 opportunity at the free throw line and Azusa Pacific found itself up 49-40 at the 13:18 mark of the second half.
 
"We seemed to relax at the point on offense," added Odell, "and things really began to click for us.  Our was pleased with our effort all night.  We were diving for loose ball, going after rebounds, playing hard defense, but we were passing up open shots until we put together that run."
 
Senior guard Rashaun Thomas, playing in his first game at Concordia after transferring over from GSAC rival Biola, led Concordia with a game-high 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting which included a trio of treys.
 
The win is Azusa Pacific's 12^th straight over Concordia, which hasn't defeated the Cougars since 1996.  The Cougars improve to 13-2 on the season, 5-1 in the GSAC.  Concordia falls to 11-7 overall, 3-3 in the GSAC.