Espanola, N.M. - Northern New Mexico College (1-3) missed two free throws with four seconds left in the game allowing Arizona Christian University (1-0) to escape with a 75-74 victory in the official 2012-13 season opener, Saturday, November 3, at the Santa Claran Classic hosted by Northern New Mexico College in Espanola, New Mexico. 

Led by first-year head coach Jeff Rutter, ACU plays exhibition games at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, Friday, November 9, at 7 p.m., and at Utah Valley State University in Orem, Utah, Saturday, November 17, at 1:05 p.m. ACU's first home game of the new season happens Tuesday, November 20, when the Firestorm host Chapman University (Calif.) for a 7:30 p.m. game in Fultz Memorial Gymnasium on the ACU campus in northern Phoenix. 

"I'm proud of ACU's defense in the first 15 minutes of the game," said Rutter. "Northern New Mexico had a difficult time getting into the paint and finding good shots." That gave ACU an opportunity to build a lead, and the Firestorm led 38-25 at halftime. Northern New Mexico outscored the Firestorm, 49-37, in the second half, as the Eagles made 5 three-pointers and 18 of their 24 free throws while ACU managed just 3 three-pointers and 10 of 16 free throws. Trailing 75-74 with four seconds remaining in regulation time, NNMC guard Daniel Molina was fouled and missed both the potential tying and game-winning free throws, and ACU rebounded and held on as time ran out. 

Junior forward Daniel Cornelius (Phoenix, Ariz./Phoenix Christian H.S.) hit 10 of his 14 shots, including 2 of his 3 three-pointers and totaled 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Senior guard A.J. Koch (Tucson, Ariz./Flowing Wells H.S.), a four-year letter-winner with 932 career points, finished with 15 points, 2 three-pointers, and made 7 of 8 free throws and gathered four rebounds, and blocked one shot. "A.J. (Koch) made plays for us like senior players do," says Rutter, who also lauded Cornelius for his overall play. 

Junior guard Jordan Block (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Claremont H.S./Pasadena City College) added 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and four steals, and junior guard Greg Womack (Edmond, Okla./Edmond North H.S./Maryland-Eastern Shore) added 11 points, 3 three-pointers, five rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and one steal in his 30 minutes of action. Freshman forward Mike Navar (Chino, Calif./Chino Hills H.S.) scored three points and had five rebounds and two assists, and freshman forward Jackson Helms (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley H.S.) finished with six points and three rebounds. 

For the game, ACU made 26 of 59 field goals (.441), 7 of 18 from three-point range (.389) and 16 of 24 free throws (.667), outrebounded the NNMC, 45-32, including 17 offensive rebounds, blocked three shots and stole the ball eight times. ACU committed 20 turnovers, compared to Northern New Mexico's 18 turnovers. NNMC made 24 of 60 shots (.400), 8 of 24 three-pointers (.333) and 18 of 26 free throws (692) for the game. The Eagles stole the ball seven times from ACU.