AZUSA, Calif. –- Freshman guard Mike Danielian had a night to remember. Chances are, though, the way he is playing, his next outing will put tonight’s performance out of mind.

Danielian scored the most points by a Cougar in 2 years, tallying a career-high 31 off the bench to lead the NAIA’s No. 12-ranked Azusa Pacific to an easy 104-75 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over Hope International. Danielian scored 21 first-half points.

Azusa Pacific rolled out to a 12-2 lead 4 minutes into the game and was still up by 10 when Danielian entered the contest. In a moment’s notice he single-handedly blew it open, scoring 17 points in a 9-minute stretch to push a 14-4 Cougar advantage into a 40-17 gaping hole following his third trey of the half and still with more than 5 minutes left to play.

“We wanted to come out and play good defense to get us going, and that’s what we did,” said Cougar coach Bill Odell. “Of course when Mike gets going like that, everything comes rather easy.”

Danielian, who 2 years ago scored 52 points to break NBA standout Gilbert Arenas’ single-game school scoring record at Grant High in the San Fernando Valley, has scored 58 points in the past 2 games with the Cougars.

“He is getting more comfortable with the offense,” said Odell, “and he understands when and where his shots are going to be without forcing anything.”

Over the past 13 games Danielian is averaging 13.6 points while shooting a sizzling a .451 (32-for-71) from the 3-point line, a vast improvement over the .261 (12-for-46) pace that he opened the season with through the first 7 games. His 31 tonight is the best by a Cougar since Nate Pratt came off the bench to pour in 32 vs. St. Mary (Kan.) on Dec. 31, 2004.

Four other Cougars scored in double figures tonight, including All-GSAC guard Demario Butler, who registered 10 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. Scott Zea added 15 points and 6 rebounds. Chidi Ajufo added 12 points and 6 rebounds in just 15 minutes of action off the bench.

All 5 Royal starters scored in double figures with center Marko Torovic leading the way with 16 points.

The victory is Azusa Pacific’s 20th in a row over Hope International.

With the win, the Cougars improve to 20-4 overall and register their 15th consecutive 20-win campaign, a GSAC record. At 10-4 in the GSAC they take over sole possession of second place following Cal Baptist’s loss at Point Loma Nazarene (San Diego Christian had the night off). Hope International falls to 4-20 overall, 2-12 in the GSAC.