Fullerton, CA- Junior Chris Sterling shot lights out and Senior Bobby Gray was a rebound short of a triple-double as Arizona Christian sank NCAA DII Armstrong State (GA) 91-73 on Tuesday.  Sterling scored 25 points while Gray's line finished with 13 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds.

Sterling wasted little time finding his groove as he scored the first two points of the game with his first shot attempt.  The Pirates (0-4) scored the next four points to take their only lead of the late afternoon.

Gray scored his first points of the game with Senior Brandon Newman adding the next four points.

ASU tied the score at 8-8 with 15:23 left in the first half.

Twenty-four seconds later, Sophomore Andy Sessions nailed a three pointer and ACU moved ahead for good in the contest.

The Pirates climbed back within one a few minutes later but that was close as they would get.

A three pointer from Sterling gave Arizona Christian their first double lead with eight minutes remaining in the half.

Just before the half Gray notched a pair of free throws to once again move the Firestorm (8-1) into the comfort of a double digit advantage with a 44-33 halftime edge.

Sterling was nearly perfect shooting in the half as he knocked down eight of nine shots with his only miss coming on one of his five attempts from behind the three point line.  He poured in 20 points in the opening 20 minutes.

As a team, the Firestorm were focused as they converted 50% of their shots from the field while draining an impressive 7-9 shots (77.8%) from the behind the three point arc.

The second half belonged to Gray and Senior Sharif Watson.  Gray dished, shot, and rebounded his way to nine points, seven rebounds, and seven assists after the break.  Watson hit his lone first half shot attempt and both free throws but was just getting warmed up.  He ended the game a perfect 7-7 from the field and 3-4 from the charity stripe as he scored 14 of his 18 points in the final half.

ACU made 51.5% of their second half shots while holding Armstrong State to just 38% shooting for the game.

Head Coach Jeff Rutter stated, "That was a great team effort tonight. We've been challenging the guys to play harder and defend and they really responded. I thought we maintained our effort and intensity and had no drop off when we went to the bench. Armstrong State is a talented team. Coach Dunson did a great job with the scout and our guys executed and bothered them defensively."

The Firestorm will enjoy time off over the Thanksgiving weekend before playing again a week from Wednesday at Embry-Riddle up in Prescott.  The Firestorm and Eagles will tip-off at 7:00 pm.