The Biola men’s basketball team ended their regular season in dramatic fashion on Saturday, as they forced overtime against the Westmont College Warriors, a team who entered in fourth place in the Golden State Athletic Conference standings. The first time these two teams met, the Warriors easily won 83-65. However, this game told a different story, as Biola came out from the gate with excellent defense. Unfortunately for the Eagles, despite good defense and enough offense to force overtime, a last-minute error cost them the game and they walked away with the 64-60 loss. That loss moved their GSAC record to 4-12 and their overall record to 16-14.
Not much excitement occurred in the first half, as both teams played excellent defense, and neither team shot very well when they did get an opportunity. Both teams made eight shots, but Biola shot significantly more than Westmont, contributing to their lower overall field goal percentage. The score stayed close throughout the first half, with Westmont grabbing the largest lead of the half — seven points — with 2:20 left on the clock. Biola finished the half with a 5-0 point run, bringing the deficit to two.
The second half proved much better on the offensive side of the ball for both teams, as both teams’ field goal percentages hovered around 50 percent. The second half was dominated on both sides of the court by the bigs, as senior Mike Kurtz and freshman Steve Herve scored 11 and eight points respectively. Daniel Carlin stepped up for Westmont, scoring 11 of his 20 points on the night. Kurtz excelled, ending the night with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Nine of his points came off of three-pointers, a surprising stat for a forward. One of those threes came at the end of the second half, when the clock had 25 seconds left on it and Biola was down by three. Kurtz stepped up and drained the three, forcing overtime.
Overtime remained eventful, as the score never read a deficit for either team larger than four points. Biola grabbed a one-point advantage with 1:37 on the clock off of two made free-throws from senior guard Pierre Zook. He ended with just six points on 2-13 shooting, plus those two free-throws. Westmont took the lead back and expanded it to four points with 30 seconds left on the clock. Kurtz stepped up again for the Eagles, draining his final three and making it a one point game with 17 seconds on the clock. Nate Marsing was fouled for Westmont and made one of his free throws to give the Warriors a two-point lead. Biola got the ball with 10 seconds left on the clock, and Zook brought it down the court. He lost control and had to fall on the ball and call timeout in order to maintain possession. The Eagles did not have any timeouts left, and Westmont was awarded two technical free throws, which they made, giving Westmont a four point lead that Biola would not be able to overcome.
With that, the Eagles’ regular season ended. Now they turn their attention to preparing for the postseason and getting mentally ready to face the challenges that come with playoffs. They look to build off of this mostly positive performance against a tough team.
“We believe we can compete and win against any team in the GSAC,” said Zook. “But it is a matter of putting it all together for 40 min.”
The Eagles’ next game takes place at 7:30 pm on Thursday, Mar. 5, as they face the Concordia Eagles at Irvine Valley College in the first round of the post-season.
