The performance was gallant but it was far from artistic. Yet at this time of the season when victories are so imperative, the Cougars will gladly yield style points for points in the bucket.

Freshman Mike Hornbuckle led the way with 16 points, including 11 in the second half when the Cougars had to rally after squandering a 29-26 halftime lead. And for the third straight game he led the Cougars in an outstanding defensive effort. Azusa Pacific held Christian Heritage to just 36% (21-for-58) shooting and a season-low 56 points. In addition, the Cougars forced 19 CHC turnovers.

"To be honest I was never known as a defensive player in high school," said Hornbuckle, who was an all-state player last year at Oaks Christian High in Thousand Oaks, Calif. "I used to see defense as a way to get the ball back so that I could shoot. But earlier this year, when I was struggling at the offensive end, I figured I should try playing defense to get some playing time since nothing else was working."

Hornbuckle teamed with junior forward Colton Cornfoot to hold CHC's Tyler Hayes and Landon Lockard, who came in averaging a combined 25 points, to just 9 tonight on 3-for-19 shooting. Hayes had just 2 shot attempts in the first half and Lockard finished the game 0-for-9 from the floor.

"Our defense was excellent tonight," said Cougar coach Bill Odell. "I would have liked to have shot and rebounded better, but our defense was consistent throughout the game. We didn't give their shooters open looks."

Hayes' final basket of the game gave Christian Heritage a 49-48 lead with 7 minutes left in the game. Azusa Pacific responded with a 10-0 run in which 5 different players scored. Spencer Foster's corner trey capped the run and put Azusa Pacific up 58-49 with 4:21 remaining. Larry English's coast-to-coast lay-up with 2:41 left seemingly broke CHC's spirit and the Cougars ran the clock out with 6 free throws in the final 70 seconds.

English and Foster finished with 12 points a piece while Lance Soderberg added 11. Cornfoot scored 4 points but had a team-high 7 rebounds and 3 steals, including a key one that sparked Azusa Pacific's game-clinching run.

"The guys are now seeing that it's team play that gets the job done," said Odell. "They're beginning to understand that when they trust each other, they play very well together. And in each victory, someone steps up at critical moments."

Over the past 3 games – all Cougar victories (vs. Cal Baptist, Point Loma Nazarene and Christian Heritage), Azusa Pacific is holding the foe to just 60 points a game on 39% shooting, including 29% from the 3-point arc.

Azusa Pacific, which fell out of the NAIA Top 25 3 weeks ago, returned today at No. 23. Tonight's win is the Cougars' 25th straight over Christian Heritage, which hasn't defeated Azusa Pacific since 1989. The Cougars improve to 14-5 overall, and moves into second place in the GSAC at 6-2. Christian Heritage, which just 3 weeks ago was ranked No. 10 in the NAIA, suffers its fifth loss in the past 6 games and falls to 11-8 overall, 2-6 in the GSAC.