The Biola men’s basketball team was ranked number one team in the country for the NAIA for the first time in 15 years on Dec. 8. In addition, the Eagles were home on Dec. 8 for a matchup against the West Coast Baptist College Eagles. With great defense and a surprising double-double from sophomore guard Luis Medearis, Biola cruised to a 96-38 victory on Thursday night.
In the first half, the Eagles went on a 27-0 run to start the game and saw its largest lead at 40-5 with 6:20 left in the half. By the end of an embarrassing half for the West Coast Baptist College Eagles, the score stood at 66-8 with Biola looking to inflict more damage in the second half.
In the second half, the offense picked up the pace even more and eventually went on to slaughter West Coast Baptist College 96-38, a huge statement win for the newly ranked kings of the NAIA.
Coach Dave Holmquist could not ask for better play from his defense as they limited their opponent to a measly 22.6 field goal percentage and a pedestrian 16.1 three-point percentage in the game.
Biola’s bench saw a lot of playing time in the game as Medearis led the way with a breakout performance by scoring 21 points on 8-10 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds to complete his double-double. Junior forward Steve Herve had his best game of the season by tallying 17 points in only 21 minutes on the court.
With their dominant performance, the Eagles extend their unbeaten start to the season to 11-0.
Biola will be home for their next game on Dec. 10 as they kick off conference play by taking on the William Jessup University Warriors at 4 p.m.