The Eagles closed the regular season on a strong note last week, squeezing past Cal Baptist by only four at 45-41 on the road before taking down Hope International on Senior Night at Chase Gymnasium.
The win in Riverside gave Biola a regular season sweep against Cal Baptist and earned the Eagles home court advantage in the first round of the conference playoffs. However, the Lancers won’t have to wait until next season to seek redemption as Biola will host Cal Baptist on Thursday night.
Turnovers and sloppy play were on display for both teams throughout the contest, as the schools combined for nearly 30 turnovers and Cal Baptist hit less than 30 percent of their shots from the field.
Despite their poor shooting, the Lancers took control early in the first half and built a seven-point lead with less than five minutes to play. The Eagles closed the gap to only one before halftime after six consecutive Biola points in the closing minutes.
The Eagles momentum didn’t carry over after five turnovers in the first five minutes of the second half gave the Lancers their lead back. Then it was Cal Baptists turn to go cold, and they saw their five-point lead disappear after managing only two points in over six minutes of play. Biola took control on senior Josh Salo’s three-pointer, and held the lead until a Cal Baptist lay-up with 2:05 left tied the game at 41 points apiece.
The game appeared primed to spill into overtime until junior Marlon King’s driving lay-up with six seconds left saved the game, and possibly the season, for the Eagles. King finished the night with 11 points and five assists, while hounding Lancer point guard Omar Krayem into a 0-for-10 shooting mark and only four points, down from his 16.6 ppg season average.
On Monday night the Eagles concluded their regular season with a match-up against Hope International on Senior Night and came out on top with 51-39 victory. Before the game, the athletic department honored Biola’s lone senior and hard-cutting, three-point specialist Josh Salo.
The Eagles started slow against the GSAC’s last-place team and had to work to get in the lead at halftime when sophomore Josh Miller’s jumper barely beat the buzzer. Miller led the Eagles with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while junior Rocky Hampton contributed nine points and four blocks. Hampton is coming off a career week after being named GSAC player of the week, as well as making the All-GSAC team for the second straight year.
The Eagles finish the regular season with a 22-8 overall record and 13-7 mark in the GSAC, their best finish in four seasons and good enough for the fourth-seed in the postseason tournament.
Biola will host the fifth-seed Cal Baptist Thursday night at 7:30 in Chase Gymnasium in the opening round of the GSAC playoffs.
