The Biola Eagles' men’s basketball team lost against the Westmont University Warriors in the final regular season game of the Golden State Athletic Conference. Westmont came in ranked fourth in GSAC with a 11-4 conference record, while Biola sat in seventh with a 4-11 record. The last time these two teams met, Westmont easily won 83-65. Biola played tenacious defense throughout the game as well as got some key offense when they needed it most. Unfortunately, the victory ended up just out of reach for the Eagles, as the overtime buzzer sounded with the score reading a 64-60 loss for Biola.
The offenses struggled all around, as Westmont took 54 shots and made 22 of them, while Biola took 70 shots, with 24 of them finding the mark. Three-point shooting was uncharacteristically low for the Eagles as well, shooting 23 of them but only making six. Senior Pierre Zook struggled from beyond the arc, missing all six of his attempts. Surprisingly, it was the seven-foot senior Mike Kurtz who made the most from deep, draining three of his eight attempts. Kurtz had a huge night for the Eagles, scoring 23 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. He led all scorers going into halftime, accounting for nine of his team’s 19 first-half points. Westmont only led by two at the half, recording 21 points.
Both teams improved on the offensive front in the second half, with Biola even doubling their first half field goal percentage of 25 to 50 percent. Zook had an off night for the Eagles, but scored four of his six total points in the second after a scoreless first half. Biola also outscored Westmont in the second half by two points, as a three-pointer by Kurtz tied the game with 25 seconds left on the clock, sending it to overtime.
In overtime, Kurtz again came up big, making another three-pointer with 17 seconds left on the clock to bring Biola within one. The next Westmont possession, junior Caelan Tiongson fouled Nate Marsing, who made his first free throw but missed the second, giving Biola the ball with 10 seconds left on the clock and a chance to win with a three-pointer. Pierre Zook brought the ball down the court, lost control, then had to fall on the ball and call for a timeout to try and maintain possession. Unfortunately, the Eagles did not have any remaining timeouts, and so Westmont was awarded two technical free-throws, which they made, putting the game out of Biola’s reach.
Biola finishes the regular season at 4-12 in conference and 16-13 overall, good enough for seventh place in the GSAC rankings. The Eagles’ next game is the first of the playoffs, when they will face the Concordia Eagles in Irvine on March 5. Concordia won both of the regular season matches, but Biola has shown that they still have some fight.
