Revenge and a GSAC Title Too

AZUSA, Calif. – This win was 3 weeks in the making.  Senior All-GSAC John Bourne scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead the NAIA's No. 12-ranked Azusa Pacific to an 80-66 win over No. 2-ranked Biola to win its second straight GSAC Tournament championship.

The win avenges the Cougars' previous 2 losses to the Eagles, and it caps an impressive run through the GSAC Tournament in which the Cougars avenged their final 3 losses of the season to Cal Baptist, Westmont and Biola.  The loss is also the Eagles' worst of the season.

"This feels absolutely great," said Bourne.  "We wanted to win this more than anything.  We played well the last 3 games, and now we go to nationals believing we can win a lot more."

Azusa Pacific led by 2 at the intermission after an entertaining first 20 minutes where the 2 squads traded 9 leads.  Senior All-GSAC Steve McIlwain hit the second of his 2 three-pointers with 46 seconds left to give the Cougars a 36-34 lead.  After trading buckets to open the second half, senior Gary Dredge buried his first 3-pointer of the season with the shot clock winding down, sending the crowd of more than 2,200 into a frenzy.

That bomb ignited a 19-10 Cougar spurt over 6 and a half minutes that widened a 2-point lead into an insurmountable 11-point cushion.  Junior Ladrick Simon capped the run with 6 consecutive free throws.  The cold-shooting Eagles, who cooled off from 54% in the first half to just 38% in the second half, got no closer than 6 points the rest of the way.

Biola clawed its way back within 6 (65-59) with 3:53 to go, but Bourne shot right back with 2 straight buckets, including a put back of a Caleb Gervin missed free throw, to push the lead right back up to 10 with 2:31 to play.

"Defensively, we stayed tough tonight," said Azusa Pacific head coach Bill Odell.  "We maintained our composure and played as steady of 40 minutes as we've played all year.  We have to realize that we are not going to get a great seed, and I hope we're deep enough.  But, we're certainly playing well as we get set to go back to Kansas City."

Bourne's 25 points tonight is the best output of his 2-year Azusa Pacific career since he put up 32 points against Biola in the Felix Event Center last year.  Simon provided the Cougars with spark off the bench, scoring 15 points and grabbing 7 points.  He was 7-for-7 from the free throw line.  Gervin also scored 15, including a pair of 3-pointers.  All-GSAC B. J. Foster led Biola with 18 points.  Mark Thrash had 14.

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 25-7, while Biola falls to 28-4.  Both teams await to see where they will be seeded in next week's NAIA Tournament.  The pairings will be released at 5:30 p.m. (PST) tomorrow evening.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#15 Ladrick Simon: F; 6' 5"; Junior

#30 John Bourne: F; 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

#15 Ladrick Simon
: 6' 5"; Junior
: F

#30 John Bourne
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F

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