With 5.1 seconds remaining in the game, Butler sank a pair of free throws to cap a maddening sprint to the finish and lift the NAIA's No. 3-ranked Azusa Pacific to a stunning 71-70 come-from-behind victory over arch-rival Biola before a crowd of 2,350 in Chase Gymnasium Tuesday night.

Azusa Pacific rallied from 11 down in the final 4-and-a-half minutes, using a 14-2 run to steal what seemed to be a sure Biola victory. Butler scored 8 of his team-high 18 points in the final run, and his game-winning free throws were the only consecutive makes the Cougars enjoyed at the charity stripe all night. The victory snaps Azusa Pacific's bizarre 2-game losing streak, and hopefully sets the Cougars back on a winning course.

"It was a typical Azusa Pacific-Biola game," said a relieved Cougar head coach Bill Odell.

Butler's game-winning trip to the line came at the expense of Biola's Solomon Mercado, who missed 2 free throws with 18 seconds left, leaving open the door one last time for Azusa Pacific. Scott Zea snared Mercados' second miss and the Cougars' quickly came up court. Butler drove the key, had the ball deflected out of his hands, collected the loose ball and was fouled by Biola's Kevin Cook.

"I've never understood what NBA players were talking about when they said they were blocking out everything at the line," described Butler of his game-winning throws, "but when I was at the line, I just blocked everything out. We just needed to win."

Mercado was unable to convert a running jumper in the key as time expired, giving Azusa Pacific a thrilling comeback victory.

"A victory like this could give us some good momentum heading into the second half of conference play," said Odell. "We played hard for the entire 40 minutes, though I didn't think we were as smart as we needed to be."

Azusa Pacific took control of play at the outset of the game, jumping out to a 12-point lead at 26-14 just 8 minutes in, making 11-of-15 shots at one point, including a trio of treys. They were still up a dozen at 41-29 following a Mike Danielian 3-pointer with 4 minutes left in the first half. However, the Cougars went dead in the water, hanging on for a 44-41 halftime lead while missing 13 of their next 18 shots that stretched across both halves. They didn't help themselves with 6 turnovers and 8 clanks of 12 free throw attempts in a dismal stretch of basketball that was frighteningly similar to a product the Cougars showcased in last week's 2 losses to unranked The Master's and Cal Baptist.

It was as if a gift had been handed to what had previously been a befuddled set of Eagles, and they gladly accepted it, relying on big men Rocky Hamption and Danny Jones to spur a 19-5 run. Not only did the Eagles assume the lead, they fashioned a comfortable 11-point margin, and when Mercado banged home a short jumper that sent the Biola crowd into a frenzy, the Eagles owned what seemed at the time as an insurmountable 68-57 cushion with 4:28 left in the game.

Yet, as had been the case when Azusa Pacific won 16 of its first 17 games of the season, the Cougars relied on a newfound defensive intensity that thwarted nearly every Biola move down the stretch. Biola got off only 3 shots in the final 4 minutes and committed 2 turnovers in the process. Meanwhile, the Cougars ripped off 9 consecutive points, beginning with a Zea trey and continuing with 6 straight Butler counters to rally back into the game at 68-66 with 1:49 to play.

When Hampton converted a difficult jumper in the key to end the Cougar run and put the Eagles up 70-66 with 1:21 remaining, it appeared that Biola had averted a disastrous collapse, side-stepping potential landmines as Azusa Pacific missed 2-of-3 free throws and a lay-up in a 7-second span with less than 30 seconds to play. However, Zea made a short jumper in the key to pull the Cougars back to within a bucket and coupled with Mercado's 2 free throw misses, the Cougars still had a chance that Butler cashed in.

"Man, I'm still shaking," said Zea nearly a half hour after the game ended. "There is nothing better than beating Biola at the buzzer at Biola. It's better than beating them by 20."

Zea finished with 17 points, 11 of which came in the first half, and 6 rebounds to go along with 3 assists. Point guard Khalif Ford, who was playing in his first-ever Azusa Pacific-Biola game, added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

"We can say it all the time, but it's especially important for the first-year guys to understand that in this conference you've got to bring it every night and do it for 40 minutes," said Odell, who improves to 23-10 lifetime vs. Biola including an 8-2 clip over the past 5 seasons. "I hope that tonight's game helps that message to set in."

Biola was paced by Hampton's 17 points and Jones' 16 points and game-high 10 rebounds.

"I thought Biola played very, very well," Odell added, "the best I've seen them play this year. Their 2 big guys were just awesome. They run good stuff to get the ball inside, and they were 2 horses in there."

Azusa Pacific opened the game on a 120-point pace over the first 8 minutes of play, and even after the tempo slowed a bit, the Cougars still shot a sizzling 65-percent (17-for-26, including 6-for-9 at the arc) from the floor in the first half. Yet as hot as they were in the first 20 minutes, they were equally as cold in the second half, missing 18 of 29 shots, several of which were rim-rattlers including a Zea trey with 3 minutes to go during the Cougars' game-winning run.

The Cougars' second-half shooting woes were also quite noticeable at the line as well. Azusa Pacific made just 8-of-19 free throws on the evening.

"We were terrible at the line," added Odell, "and then we win it with 2 free throws, so I guess that's the typical Biola-Azusa Pacific irony."

With tonight's effort, Butler, the Cougars' leading scorer a year ago, snaps out of a mini-slump in which he had tallied just 30 points over the past 3 games, 2 of which Azusa Pacific lost.

"I told myself this morning that if the slump is going to end in any game, let it be this one tonight," said Butler. "When we were down 10, 11, 12 points I told myself, 'let's go, Demario!' and look what happened? I woke up, and we won a basketball game."

And mind you, not just any basketball game, but one against Biola, the only other school besides Azusa Pacific to win a GSAC title over the past 14 years (2001, the Cougars won the other 13).

With the victory Azusa Pacific improves to 17-3 overall, 6-3 in the GSAC. Biola falls to 10-10 overall, 4-6 in the GSAC.

"This is a huge win," said Zea. "We still control our destiny. Had we lost we would have needed help from someone else for us to win conference. It would not have been in our hands."

As much as Azusa Pacific needed the victory, so too did Biola, which now has suffered 3 losses in its past 4 games by a grand total of 4 points, including a pair of setbacks to NAIA Top-10-ranked teams.

Azusa Pacific opens the final 4 weeks of GSAC play Friday (Jan. 26) at home against Point Loma Nazarene. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in the Felix Event Center.