Victory over Cal Baptist
Biola’s men’s basketball team extended their winning streak to seven games with a 63-55 victory against California Baptist University in an away game on Saturday, Dec. 4. This was one of the first games this season that senior Dwight Gordon was not the team’s leading scorer. Instead senior Curtis Eatmon led the Eagles with 15 points, followed by Gordon with 13, and senior Josh Miller with 10.
The Eagle’s stifling defense went to work right as the game began, preventing the Lancers from scoring for the first four minutes. They extended the lead to 25-13 on a three-pointer by Eatmon at 7:12. The Lancers answered with a three-pointer of their own, but this was followed by a flashy behind-the-back assist to senior Clay Martin by Eatmon that quieted the crowd. The Eagles led 36-26 at half time.
The Lancers began the second half with a quick layup by Jerome Lowe and a three-pointer by Justus Von Wright to cut the deficit to 5. However, after two free throws by Gordon and a 3-pointer by both Miller and senior Nate Rakestraw, the lead was brought back to double digits. Cal Baptist continued to fight back, but Biola maintained composure, cruising to the 63-55 win.
“We handled adversity when they started making a run to come back and we continued to hold on to the lead,” said Eatmon.
Victory over Westmont
The Biola men’s basketball team remains unbeaten with a 6-0 record after their 65-46 victory against Westmont in their first GSAC game of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 30. The Eagles continue to dismantle their opponents, winning each of the last three games by an average of 28 points.
The victory over Westmont was the second game of the season in which at least five Biola players have scored in double figures. Senior Dwight Gordon once again led the team with 18, senior Andrew Schroeder added 13, and Biola received 10 points apiece from Curtis Eatmon, Nate Rakestraw, and sophomore Clay Martin.
Despite the Warriors’ poor shooting percentage of only 29.2 percent from the field in the first half, the Eagles only led by seven at intermission with the score reading 27-20. In the second half, the Eagles came out on fire from beyond the arc, draining four of their eight three-point attempts.
“They were switching defenses on us so it opened up more opportunities to shoot the ball from the outside,” said Eatmon.
This helped Biola to extend the lead to double digits and eventually to 23 with 2:10 remaining in the game. The Warriors did all they could to close the gap, but it was too late with the final score 65-46. The Eagles continue to show why they are ranked second in the NAIA. In scoring defense they just allow an average of 52.4 points per game.
The Eagles and the Warriors had a very similar stat line across the board with the only major difference being in field goal percentage with Biola shooting 45.1 percent in contrast to Westmont’s 36.4 percent for the game.
Biola returns to action on Dec. 4 with an away game against California Baptist University at 7:30 p.m.
