March 15, 2006

Kansas City, Mo. - No. 6 seed Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) defeated the defending National Champion John Brown University (Ark.) 65-63 in a championship game re-match Wednesday in the first round of the 69^th Annual Buffalo Funds - NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship.  The 32-team, single-elimination tournament runs March 15-21 at Municipal Auditorium.

Demario Butler scored on a put-back to put Azusa Pacific up by two with 4.1 seconds left.  John Brown had one last shot but was off at the buzzer.  The win avenged last year's 65-55 loss to the Golden Eagles in the 2005 NAIA Division I title game.

Azusa Pacific started off quick with a field goal by Butler but then watched the lead disappear in the first half.  After half-time the Cougars inched their way back make it a tie game when Scott Zea hit a 3 pointer with 10:53 left in the second half.  Tristan King had a game high of 19 points, followed by Butler with 16 points. Butler also had a game high of 10 rebounds. 

The Golden Eagles had four players in double figures, led by Alex Terry with 16 points.  Brandon Cole finished with 13 points while Adam Workman and Cody Page ended with 12 and 10 points each, respectively.  John Brown ends its season with a 16-15 record.  This was John Brown's fourth consecutive National Tournament Appearance.

Azusa Pacific (29-5) advances to a tournament second round game Friday at 12:30 p.m CST.  The Cougars will face either Trevecca Nazarene University (Tenn.) or Lambuth University (Tenn.).