Denver, Colo. - Arizona Christian University, coached by Rick Roth (8th season at ACU), began its 2011-12 men's basketball season with a tight 82-76 loss to McPherson College (Kan.), the number 11 team in the NAIA Division II pre-season national coaches' poll. McPherson, an NAIA Division II national tournament quarterfinalist last season, improved its record to 4-0. 

ACU (0-1) takes on Johnson and Wales University (Colo.) in a Sunday matinee at 1 p.m. Denver time in Wildcat Gymnasium. 

Coach Roth says, "We played hard with a lot of guts for 40 minutes tonight. We also shot well, especially from behind the three-point arc," Roth says. "Daniel Cornelius (Phoenix, Ariz./Phoenix Christian H.S.), Jared Culbert (Henderson, Nev./Coronado H.S.) and Judah St. Amand (Phoenix, Ariz./Scottsdale Christian Academy) gave us great minutes off the bench." ACU made 17 three-pointers in the contest out of 25 attempts, a hot .680 mark, and ACU's bench outscored McPherson's reserves, 35-10. Cornelius, a sophomore transfer from Vanguard University, scored 12 points with 3 three-pointers and 5 rebounds, St. Amand, a freshman, hit all three of his three-point field goal tries for 9 points, and Culbert, also a freshman, contributed 6 points and 4 rebounds. 

Senior guard Josh Cole (Phoenix, Ariz./Westview H.S.) led ACU with 14 points, made good on all four of his three-point field goal attempts and grabbed 3 rebounds. Junior guard A.J. Koch (Tucson, Ariz./Flowing Wells H.S.), an A.I.I. Division II All-Conference second team, NCCAA All-West Region honorable mention and All-Pacific Coast Athletics Conference second team selection last season, scored 12 points with 2 three-pointers but hit just 3 of his 10 shots, and gathered 5 rebounds, and senior guard Houston Friend (Phoenix, Ariz./Scottsdale Christian Academy), an NCCAA All-West Region honorable mention and All-Pacific Coast Athletics Conference honorable mention last season, contributed 9 points with 3 three-pointers. 

The Firestorm made 25-44 from the field (.568), 17-25 three-pointers (.680) and 9 of 15 free throws (.600), committed 21 turnovers, and had 5 steals. McPherson made 29-58 field goals (.500), 8-18 from three-point range (.444) and 16 of 27 free throws (.593), committed 14 turnovers and out-rebounded ACU, 30-28. ACU had just one offensive rebound in the game. 

Guard Aaron Frazier totaled a game-high 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Chris Crawford finished with 20 points on 8 of 11 field goals and gathered 5 rebounds. McPherson's leading scorer last season, Samson Shivers, added 16 points with 3 three-pointers. Jordan Crawford contributed 9 points and 10 rebounds, and guard Kasey Miller totaled 6 points with two three- pointers. 

Arizona Christian scored 12 consecutive points in a span of four minutes late in the first half and led 31-25, but McPherson closed the first half with eight consecutive points over the last 2:39 and led 33-31 at intermission. 

McPherson took its biggest lead of the game, 43-34, with 17:12 left in the second half, but a 23-9 run by Arizona Christian put the Firestorm ahead, 57-52, with 10:15 remaining. However the Bulldogs regained the lead with 9:08 left and stretched it to 66-62 and 68-64 with seven minutes left. The Firestorm still trailed 72-68 with 3:41 left in the game, but Friend and Koch each drained three-point field goals in a span of 27 seconds giving the Firestorm a 74-72 lead with 3:01 left. McPherson's Chris Crawford tied the game at 74 with a basket with 2:50 left, and Koch put ACU back up, 76-74, with a pair of free throws with 2:31 left. Shivers made one of three free throws at 1:47, and Aaron Frazier scored with 54 seconds remaining, putting the Bulldogs ahead, 77-76.