AZUSA, Calif. –- Here’s an interesting strategy -- get Demario Butler mad because an angry Butler is also a clutch-playing Butler.

Agitated that he had been benched midway through the second half, Butler returned to the court late in the game and scored 7 straight points, came up with a key rebound and blocked a lay-up all in the final 5 minutes to lead the NAIA’s No. 13-ranked Azusa Pacific to a 79-71 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over The Master’s Tuesday evening.

With the Cougars trying to ward off a fast-charging Master’s which had shaved a 15-point deficit down to just 6 points, Butler took over the game, first driving the key to nail a high-floating jumper, then driving baseline and banking a lay-up before converting a conventional 3-point play, all in a matter of 82 seconds. When Butler was done with his mini explosion, the Cougars owned a comfortable 73-63 lead with 3 minutes left in the game.

“I had to take Demario out of the game,” said Cougar coach Bill Odell, “he was just going through the motions. When he plays hard, he is unstoppable as we saw toward the end of the game. When he plays like that we can use his athleticism to our advantage.”

Not surprisingly, Butler, who finished the game with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots, had a different take on his play.

“Nah, I wasn’t going through the motions,” said Butler. “In fact, I was mad that coach took me out. I told myself that I was going to give it 110-percent when I got back out there. We weren’t scoring so I took it upon myself to score real quick.”

However, The Master’s would not go quietly into the night, and instead knocked down 8-of-13 shots in a 7-minute stretch to stay within striking distance. Still down by just 8 points at 73-65, the Mustangs got back-to-back quality looks at 3-point shots but was unable to convert either one, and Butler snared the rebound on the second attempt, promptly leading the ball up-court where Mike Danielian drained a corner trey in return to in effect bury the Mustangs’ hopes of a comeback.

In the first half, Azusa Pacific used a 22-7 run to take control of the game at 37-25 following a Todd Martin jumper. The Cougars surrendered 18 points in the first 10 minutes of play but tightened the defensive screws and allowed just 9 over the final 10 minutes of the half, thanks in part to inducing 10 Mustang turnovers. Tristan King tallied 10 of his 16 points in the first-half, including 8 during the Cougars’ game-turning run.

Martin finished with 10 points off the bench, including a trio off a conventional 3-point play that stemmed a Mustang run in which The Master’s had pulled to within 5 at 63-58 with 6 minutes to play.

“I thought Todd really played well tonight,” added Odell, “and though Danielian didn’t hit a hot stretch like he can, he did hit a big 3-pointer for us late in the game.”

As they did with Westmont, Azusa Pacific avenges one of its 5 GSAC losses. Earlier in the year, The Master’s upset then No. 3 Azusa Pacific, 79-70 in Santa Clarita. The Cougars neutralized the GSAC’s leading scorer Lucian Pesoli but instead were torched by freshman guard Joshua Herman and sophomore center Matt Sowa who enjoyed career nights and combined for 28 points, including 17 from Herman who drained 5 treys. The Cougars learned their lesson well and yielded just 9 points to the duo tonight, not allowing Herman to score until 18 seconds left in the game.

“Up there we got mixed up on defense between Herman and (Aaron) Dickson because they look alike,” said Odell, “and we stressed it so much in this game. Herman is No. 4, Dickson is No. 10. One can shoot, the other can not, and the guys did a good job keeping track of Herman.”

Pesoli, on the other hand, torched Azusa Pacific for 31 points, including 18 in the second half. But the Cougars weathered his storm and never trailed over the final 28 minutes of the game.

With the victory, Azusa Pacific improves to 23-5 overall, 13-5 in the GSAC and clinches home court advantage for the first round of next week’s GSAC Postseason Tournament. The Master’s falls to 11-16 overall, 7-11 in the GSAC, but maintains its 1-game advantage for the eighth and final spot in the conference tournament following Fresno Pacific’s loss tonight at Biola.