The victory gives Azusa Pacific the GSAC's second automatic bid into next week's NAIA Championship Tournament in Kansas City, Mo., and more importantly sets the Cougars on the right course heading into the 32-team tourney. In winning their second straight GSAC Tournament crown and their fifth in the past 7 years, the Cougars have in effect wiped the slate clean of a 2007 season that admittedly did not meet team standards.

For only second time in the past 15 years, Azusa Pacific did not capture the GSAC regular-season crown, an honor that instead was shared by Concordia and San Diego Christian. The Cougars lost an uncharacteristic 6 conference contests and in the process lost their confidence. Until tonight.

"We got our swagger back," said senior guard Demario Butler. "We are on the right track now. We just won 3 big games and sent a message to the GSAC and the rest of the NAIA who had probably counted us out."

Indeed, Azusa Pacific has turned the tables. In winning the GSAC Postseason Tournament, the Cougars beat 3 other schools which also are advancing to the NAIA Championship Tournament – Westmont, San Diego Christian and Concordia – including a pair of Top 10-ranked teams.

"We just beat 3 teams we'll see back in Kansas City," said Azusa Pacific head coach Bill Odell, "and I think for the guys, that's pretty important to them. They feel somewhat vindicated for the regular season."

The Cougars reeled off 6 straight points to start the second half, opening up a 9-point lead at 42-33. Zea, the Cougars' leading scorer who got just 2 shots off in the first half, made the first 2 buckets of the second half to get himself and his team rolling. Azusa Pacific never trailed in the final frame and was up by as much as 11 at one point, holding double-digit leads on several occasions. Zea drained a pair of second-half treys, including a long bomb with 6:20 remaining the kept the Cougars up 9 at 70-61.

"In the locker room at halftime coach said they were going to run some plays for me to get me into the game," said Zea. "After I made a couple of shots, it got me into the flow and my defense picked up as well."

The Cougars were monsters on the glass, out-rebounding Concordia by a hefty 14 caroms, 37-23. Better yet, Azusa Pacific snagged 14 offensive boards, just 5 shy of the Eagles' 19 defensive grabs.

"Limiting Concordia to just 4 offensive rebounds is pretty good too," Odell was quick to note as he glanced at the post-game stats.

The pace of the game was unusual for both teams, who combined for 179 points in the first meeting of the season, a 94-85 Cougar victory, and then 216 in the second contest, an Eagle 111-105 double overtime decision.

"We did a much better job handling Concordia's defensive pressure this time," said Odell. "They get after you the entire 40 minutes and in both games earlier this season, they forced 10 more turnovers on us than what we averaged. But our guys understood what they had to do tonight, and though they weren't perfect and there are still things to fix, they played hard and they played well."

Concordia scooted out to a 20-12 lead midway through the first half, but Azusa Pacific answered with an 18-5 run. A Khalif Ford trey tied the game at 22-22, and Zea's only basket of the first half gave the Cougars a 25-24 lead. They eventually settled for a 36-33 halftime advantage.

Butler finished with 13 points and 3 steals, while Tristan King tallied 12 points. His conventional 3 point play gave Azusa Pacific its biggest lead of the game at 50-39 less than 5 minutes into the second half.

Ford finished with 10 points, including 8 in the first half, and 4 assists.

"Khalif played a great game against their pressure," said Odell, "and considering that he's battling the flu, it's even more impressive. It'll be good for him and several other guys to have some time off before we head back to Kansas City."

Azusa Pacific, which is now 27-6 on the season, is 1 of a record 5 GSAC teams that will be competing in this year's NAIA Championship Tournament. Concordia, which collected the conference's other automatic bid, returns to the NAIA's for the fourth time in the past 5 years while San Diego Christian is making a return trip. California Baptist and Westmont will also be in Kansas City.

First-round pairings and the entire 32-team bracket for the NAIA Tournament will be released Wednesday (March 7) at 5 p.m. (PST).