Danielian, who averaged 30 points a game as a 2005 senior at Grant High School, drained 6-of-7 shots from beyond the arc tonight, including 3 in a 2-and-a-half minute stretch midway through the second half to lead the Cougars to their ninth straight win.

"Mike played great," said Cougar coach Bill Odell. "He certainly had his stroke going tonight. The great thing about him is that he didn't hang his head when his shot wasn't falling earlier in the year. He worked as hard as anyone on his shot. His work ethic has been great."

Todd Martin added 12 points off the bench while All-GSAC guard Demario Butler added 11 points. San Diego Christian was paced by All-GSAC center Rowan Gray who had 16 points, but 6 of that came in the final 5 minutes after Azusa Pacific had assumed a 24-point advantage.

At the outset, Azusa Pacific flinched in the face of San Diego Christian's physical play, falling behind by as much as 7 at 23-16 following a 3-pointer by Hawk guard Chris Neal. Danielian, however, scored 13 first half points and teamed with fellow reserve Martin to spur a 12-0 Cougar run late in the half to give Azusa Pacific 41-32 lead at the intermission, with the duo scoring 10 of the Cougars' 12 points in the run.

"It usually takes a while to get a feel for how the officials are going to call the game," said Odell, "and I think that was a case tonight. They (San Diego Christian) present quite a challenge for us with their inside play, but we were able to help defend off a couple of their other players, and in the second half, we were able to help all over the floor, not just on the inside."

Indeed the Cougar defense was effective in limiting the GSAC's top 3-point shooting team to just 4 treys for the game. The Hawks entered the contest with GSAC-leading numbers of 45-percent shooting from the 3-point territory and 60-percent overall. Yet tonight, Azusa Pacific held SDCC to just 47-percent (29-for-62) from the floor, including a chilly 4-for-13 clip from the 3-point stripe. Meanwhile the Cougars drained a season-high 11 bombs, over half of which came off the hands of Danielian.

"Everyone on this team has to step up at some point," said Danielian. "Someone off the bench can step up. It's a team game, and whether it's me this game or someone else next game, one of us has to step up off the bench."

Through the first 11 games of the season, Danielian, who twice scored 50 or more points in a game during his high school career, was shooting just 32-percent (24-for-75) from floor. Over the past 3 games, though, Danielian has warmed up, canning 18 of his past 29 shots (.621), including a sizzling 12-for-22 from the arc.

"I have been feeling the ball better," said Danielian, "but I just have to thank my teammates and the coaching staff for believing in me,. They probably believed in me more than I believed in myself.

San Diego Christian, which last year became one of only 4 teams ever to sweep a regular season series from Azusa Pacific in the 15-year Bill Odell-era, pulled to within 7 at 50-43 with 13 minutes left in the game following a pair of Bayo Arigbon free throws. Azusa Pacific, though, answered with a 25-11 run in which Danielian scored 11 points to put the Cougars up 78-54 with 5:35 remaining.

With the victory, Azusa Pacific improves to 13-1 on the season, 3-1 in the GSAC. San Diego Christian falls to 9-2 overall, 2-2 in the GSAC.