Cougars Rain Threes to Dispose Mustangs

AZUSA, Calif. – The NAIA's No. 8-ranked Azusa Pacific couldn't make a three-pointer to save itself in the first half, but senior guard Steve McIlwain found his touch in the second half and buried back-to-back 3 balls to lead Azusa Pacific to an 82-77 come-from-behind victory over The Master's.

With the victory, Azusa Pacific avenges one of its four losses from earlier in the season, and combined with top-ranked Biola's upset loss to Cal Baptist, moves the Cougars back to within a game of first place in the GSAC, putting a potential and unprecedented tenth straight GSAC championship back on the Cougars' table.

"Steve had a couple of big 3s and Brett (Michel) drew an offensive foul on (Brandee) Jones that gave us some space," said Cougar coach Bill Odell.  "They pushed us around a bit in the first half, but we responded in the second half.  We had to match their physical play and we did."

The Master's, which downed the Cougars 67-64 back in December, appeared to be headed toward another possible upset, hanging with the Cougars for 30 minutes, and in fact often leading in the second half.  However, McIlwain stepped up in the clutch nailing 2 treys from the right corner to give Azusa Pacific a 57-51 lead with 7:49 left.  From there, the Cougars kept The Master's at bay, as Gary Dredge, Anthony Haggins and McIlwain hit clutch shots in the waning moments to secure the win.

McIlwain tallied a season-high 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting.  The only treys he made on the night were the 2 he hit that put the Cougars ahead.  Caleb Gervin, who knocked down a long-distance 3-pointer with 3:12 remaining to put the Cougars up 71-64, finished with 19 points, 4 assists and 2 steals.

"Master's gets up for us," said Gervin.  "But a game like this is all about tempo and who controls the boards.  It's a thinking man's game, but you can't be out on the floor thinking about your abilities.  You just have to go out and play."

The Master's was paced by Brandee Jones' game-high 26 points.  Lavar Simmons finished with 17 points but was unable to convert on a pair of conventional 3-point plays with less than 3 minutes remaining that would have allowed the Mustangs to creep closer.  In a physical game that produced 50 fouls, 4 players fouled out, including Jones and Simmons (Azusa Pacific's Gary Dredge and The Master's Brett DeVries were the others).

The first half was a see-saw tight battle in which the 2 teams traded leads 7 times, The Master's finally settled for a 37-35 cushion at the intermission.  Neither team had a bigger lead than 5 points (Azusa Pacific, 21-16) in the first 20 minutes of play.  Jones led the Mustang charge from the 12 with first-half points.  Gervin paced a balanced Cougar attack with 8 points.  Azusa Pacific made just 1-of-8 3-point attempts in the first half but followed with 5-of-10 shooting from the arc over the final 20 minutes of play.

With the win Azusa Pacific improves to 20-4 overall, 11-3 in the GSAC.  The Master's falls to 14-9 overall, 6-8 in the GSAC.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Caleb Gervin: G; 6' 1"; Junior

#11 Steve McIlwain: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#24 Anthony Haggins: F-G; 6' 4"; Senior

#53 Gary Dredge: C; 6' 9"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#4 Caleb Gervin
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

#11 Steve McIlwain
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#24 Anthony Haggins
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F-G

#53 Gary Dredge
: 6' 9"; Senior
: C