Men drub Hope 83-42

Biola closed out the first half of conference play on a good note with a dominant 83-42 victory over Hope International University on Tuesday night at Chase Gymnasium.

Senior guards Marlon King and Danny Campbell each scored 17 points to fuel Biola’s offensive onslaught, while fellow senior guard Tim Island added 12 points off the bench.

This was a game of scoring runs. Unfortunately for the Royals, Biola was the only team making them. The Eagles jumped out to an early lead going on a 14-4 run during the first seven minutes. They finished the first half strong, going on a 10-0 run that put them up 20 with just over a minute left. Biola would hold a comfortable 34-15 lead at halftime after shooting a hot 45.5 percent in the first half while holding Hope to a dismal 29 percent from the field.

To begin the second half, the Royals had a feeling of déjà vu as the Eagles once again came out of the locker room on fire, going on an 18-2 run that put them up by 35 at 52-17 with 15:22 to play.

It wouldn’t get any prettier from there for Hope. Biola extended its already large lead by 44 at one point, with every Eagle player logging seven minutes and all but one getting on the scoreboard.

Biola had a season-high 17 steals, some of which accounted for the 25 turnovers the Royals committed.

The Eagles improve to 19-1 on the season with their third-straight victory and to 9-1 in conference play.

Biola returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Thursday Jan. 28, opening the second round of conference play down at Point Loma Nazarene.

Women’s team explodes in the second half to take the win

Sophomore guard Charrise Reece and junior forward Jessilyn Conicelli each scored 14 points to lead Biola to a 72-50 GSAC win over Hope International University on Tuesday night at Chase Gymnasium.

Neither team could really gain any momentum in the first half, but the Eagles used a 19-3 run to open up the second half, going up by a score of 47-24 lead with 11:09 to go. Hope would not cut the Biola lead under 16 for the remainder of the game.

Biola doubled Hope’s points in the paint by a margin of 32-16 and forced a whopping 21 turnovers by the Royals, which led to 32 points for Biola.

Conicelli would add 12 boards while also dishing out six assists and snatching three steals. Reese would add four rebounds, four steals and an assist to her stat sheet. Senior guard Chelsea De Luca scored 11 points, nine of those coming via the three-ball, and sophomore guard Lauren Gustafson added seven points off the bench.

The Eagles improve to 12-6 on the season with their ninth win in the last 10 games, wrapping up the first half of conference play with an 8-2 record — its best ever record at the halfway point of conference play.

Biola opens the second half of conference play with a tough GSAC battle, traveling to San Diego to take on No. 2 Point Loma Nazarene. The Sea Lions have lost just once this season, an 81-72 loss at the hands of the Eagles at Chase Gymnasium way back in November. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.