As students departed campus for Thanksgiving break, the Eagles took care of business at Chase Gymnasium with a pair of wins against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens and the Life Pacific College Warriors on Nov. 21 and 22.
CONSISTENT PLAY LEADS TO WIN
Taking on Pomona-Pitzer, the Eagles pulled ahead 17-12 early on several shots from junior forward Levi Auble and freshman forward Michael Bagatourian. Biola then stretched their lead to 29-17 on an eight-point run capped by a three-pointer from Auble with five minutes left in the half. With Biola up 12, Pomona-Pitzer began to rally, connecting from behind the arch three times to close their deficit to 32-28 going into halftime.
In the second half, redshirt freshman forward Isaiah Jones came off the bench and quickly scored to stretch the Biola lead to 10. The two teams then battled back and forth until a timely three from junior guard Trevor Treinen extended the Eagles’ lead to 59-50 with just five minutes left. Senior guard Blake Shannon Jr. then nailed a three-pointer to pull the Eagles ahead 64-50, as they closed out the win 70-60. Auble led the Eagles by pouring in 29 points while Bagatourian had a stellar night, chipping in 14 points and 11 rebounds. Treinen contributed 14 points, while Talma added eight points.
TREINEN OVER
Shannon Jr. got the Eagles started from deep early against LPC, hitting a three to tie it at five apiece. The threes would continue to rain down from both teams, as Treinen and Auble both connected from behind the arch later in the first half to tie the game at 18. Treinen then went on a run of his own, scoring eight straight for the Eagles capped by yet another three, and Bagatourian gave his team the 35-33 lead on a three-pointer. Jones again played some strong minutes off the bench, recording four points to closeout the half, but Biola trailed 47-43 going into the break.
Treinen continued his excellent play after halftime by hitting back-to-back threes to put the Eagles on top 55-52. However, the Warriors climbed back and a three-pointer made it 70-69 Eagles at the midway point of the second half. Junior guard Christian Carroll entered the game and promptly hit four straight threes to put the Eagles on top 88-83 with 3:45 to play. Bagatourian scored consecutive layups and Biola got some stops down the stretch to force the Warriors to foul, and then iced the game from the line, winning 96-93 in a wild one.
Treinen had an incredible night, hitting seven three-pointers and totaling 28 points while Auble had another strong game with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Carroll recorded 14 points and Shannon Jr. and junior forward Alex Talma scored 13 points apiece.
Biola begins PacWest play at Hawaii Pacific University at 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 30.
