AZUSA, Calif. – Marcus Miller converted 4 field goal attempts and the Saint defense yielded just 181 yards as the NAIA’s 2-time defending national champion and top-ranked Carroll College of Helena, Mont., knocked off No. 7 Azusa Pacific, 12-0, before 3,121 in Cougar Stadium Saturday night.

In a match-up between 2 of the NAIA’s premier defenses, Carroll’s crew forced 2 critical second-half turnovers that stymied any momentum Azusa Pacific could muster, and consistently handed the Saint offense advantageous field position that required just enough offense to set up Miller’s boots of 32, 34, 30 and 27 yards

After falling behind 6-0 at halftime, Azusa Pacific pinned Carroll on its opening drive of the second half and appeared to be headed toward a go-ahead touchdown, driving to the Saint 13-yard line. However, TE Jo Jo Herrera fumbled a Sean Davis shuttle pass at the Carroll 10-yard line, and Saint safety A.J. Porrini pounced on the loss ball, allowing Carroll to sidestep trouble.

Azusa Pacific continued to keep Carroll pinned deep in its own territory until a Ben Buys fumble allowed Carroll to finally get the ball in good field position midway through the third quarter. From then on, Carroll played a field position game, thwarting Azusa Pacific on its final 5 possessions while limiting Azusa Pacific to just 2 first downs the rest of the way.

“We have to execute better,” said Azusa Pacific coach Peter Shinnick. “It’s as clear cut as that. I’ll take the blame for that. I told the guys at the beginning of the week, it’s not what Carroll does but it’s what we do, and we had too many mistakes on offense tonight.”

Azusa Pacific’s defense was marvelous in its effort against a Carroll team that came in averaging nearly 43 points a game and yet was held without a touchdown for the first time in at least 4 years.

Though the Cougars yielded 342 yards worth of total offense (80 of which came on a blocked punt that was advanced), they nonetheless stopped 6 Carroll drives inside the Azusa Pacific 20-yard line, including one that ended with a fumble at the goal line.

Additionally, they hassled Carroll’s All-American QB Tyler Emmert all night, sacking him 4 times and holding him to just 166 yards passing.

“Our defense was lights out again,” added Shinnick. “To hold that team to just 12 points is a phenomenal job.”

The numbers are perhaps more impressive when considering that the Azusa Pacific defense was on the field for 36 minutes of the game, including 21 in the second half. Sophomore LB Scott Ellis finished with a career-high 10 tackles, while junior safety Troy McPeak, playing for the first time in 3 weeks, tallied 9 tackles. Jed Thurner and Chuck Asiodu also had 9 tackles and combined for 2.5 sacks of Emmert.

As well as the Cougar defense played in frustrating Emmert and his high-powered offense, Azusa Pacific’s offense was equally frustrated, if not more, managing just 55 rushing yards on 25 carries while producing just 9 first downs.

“We just weren’t efficient tonight,” said Davis, who finished the game 14-for-27 passing for 126 yards. “We have the size, speed and athletic ability but we just didn’t take advantage. We just weren’t getting it done tonight.”

In becoming the first team to shut out Azusa Pacific at home since Southern Utah dropped a goose egg on the Cougars in 1970 (27-0), Carroll also snaps Azusa Pacific’s 12-game home field winning streak, handing the Cougars their first set-back in Azusa since Oct. 27, 2001.

With the victory, Carroll runs its nation-leading winning streak to 24 straight and improves to 5-0 on the season while Azusa Pacific falls to 4-1.