After an exhibition and scrimmage game, the Biola men’s basketball season has finally started. Though they have a fairly young team, the Eagles are stacked with talent and look to have a great season.
In their season opener in Helena, Mont., the Eagles played undefeated Rocky Mountain College who recently beat No. 8 Azusa Pacific. Biola trailed for most of the game but gave the Bears a fight, finally taking the lead late in the game, winning 68-65.
Sophomore Rocky Hampton had 16 points and 16 rebounds, while fellow teammate senior forward Danny Jones also finished the game with a double-double.
The Eagles remained in Montana, facing off against Carroll College, the hosts of the tournament. Carroll got the lead early and held it throughout the entire game. At one point, Biola trailed by as much as 41-18.
The Eagles rallied back closing the gap to 50-41, but it was too little too late as Biola ended up losing 64-56. Sophomore guard Danny Campbell led all scorers with 18 points, while sophomore guard Marlon King added 15 of his own.
In the GSAC opener, four of Biola’s five starters scored double-digits in their 79-42 crushing of San Diego Christian College. Freshman Luke Duperron recorded a career-high 16 points as the Eagles shot 50 percent in the second half.
After breezing past San Diego Christian, Biola again took care of business on Nov. 24 against the University of Redlands, winning 79-55. In the first half of the game, the score was close, but the Eagles came out strong in the second half dominating the court and shooting over 50 percent throughout the game.
King put up great numbers with 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals, which helped the team start this season 3-1.
The Eagles fifth official game of the season came against Hope International. Biola controlled the series match 31-1 coming into the game, but unfortunately for the Eagles, records didn’t mean a thing.
Biola ruled the game for the most part but let the lead slip away late. The Royals were able to capitalize on missed shot by Biola and eventually took the game 59-55, dropping the Eagles to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in GSAC play.
Even with the loss, Campbell is excited about what the season has to hold.
“We have great camaraderie,” Campbell said. “Everyone on the team has the same vision, and it feels like a family.”
“We come out everyday with a plan to work out and get better,” he said. “If one of us is slacking off, we keep each other accountable to work our hardest and perform to our best.”
Campbell and the Eagles look to bounce back in their next game as they host Point Loma Nazarene Thursday night at Chase Gymnasium.
“We have a big game coming up, and we know as a team what we need to do to win. We have to come together, play our hearts out and leave everything we have on the court to win the game,” Campbell said.
