The wins against ranked opponents continue to pile up for the men’s basketball team. They recorded their third victory over a top-25 opponent in the last two weeks, knocking off preseason NAIA No. 1 Cal Baptist by a final score of 67-64 on Saturday night at Chase Gymnasium.
Biola improves to 14-5 overall and 5-4 in the GSAC with the win, and will go into their Tuesday night game against Hope International hoping to avenge last season’s loss to the Royals, which was Hope’s first win against Biola in over 12 years. The Eagles move into a five-way tie for third place in the GSAC, a murky hierarchy that should clear up as the second half of conference play begins next week.
The Eagles were forced to play catch-up in the first half, due in part to the hot shooting of the Lancers’ Mark Roussin, who scored nine of Cal Baptists first 11 points, but were able to hang around despite the swarming defense of the Lancers.
Roussin helped the Eagles after picking up his second foul with 10:22 to play in the first period, and didn’t return until the start of the second half.
Down three points with nine seconds to play in the first half, junior guard Marlon King hit a deep three from the top of the key to end the period tied at 31, the first of several clutch shots King would make in the game and an example of the expanded role King is playing in the team’s offensive scheme.
The Eagles started the second half by jumping out to their largest lead of the night at 40-35, and despite several lead changes held momentum for virtually the entire second half. King hit two critical jumpers in the last three minutes, breaking a tie and giving the Eagles a two-point lead in both cases. However, it was junior center Rocky Hampton who had the game winning put back to put the Eagles ahead 66-62.
Head coach Dave Holmquist praised King’s performance and the Eagles’ second half effort.
“Marlon made a couple big baskets there down the stretch,” he said. “The second half we picked up our intensity level from the first half. I thought we showed a lot of heart.”
Both teams had four players in double figures, with King pacing Biola with 18 points and Omar Krayem leading Cal Baptist with 20 points. Other notable performers were Hampton, who scored 14 and collected a game high seven rebounds for the Eagles, and junior guard Derick Sumpter, who came off the bench with 10 points.
The Eagles return to action Tuesday night on the road against Hope International, their last stop in the first half of their 20-game conference schedule. Looking ahead to the second half of the season, Holmquist remained cautious, saying only, “We just have to be ready for each game and not get too up or too down.”
