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Men’s basketball loses big in Cornerstone catastrophe

Eagles cannot climb out of big first half deficit, drop rivalry game against APU.
Senior forward Steve Herve attempts a shot against an Asuza Pacific University player on Dec. 15.
Senior forward Steve Herve attempts a shot against an Asuza Pacific University player on Dec. 15.
Photo courtesy of Marlena Lang/ THE CHIMES

Biola hosted Azusa Pacific University in a much-anticipated Cornerstone Cup matchup in Chase Gymnasium on Saturday. The Eagles were hoping to push their win streak at home against APU to two following last February’s thrilling 73-70 victory. Saturday night, however, followed a far different script. Biola started the first half slow and could not claw their way back into it as the Cougars took a big 73-59 victory.

Sophomore guard Michael Bagatourian was one of the only bright spots for Biola, as he led all scorers with 24 points as well as six rebounds. Senior guard Trevor Treinen chipped in 16 points.

“They got way too many offensive rebounds. We missed too many free throws. They just outplayed us,” Bagatourian said.

SLOW START

Biola struggled to score early in the first half, turning the ball over several times and allowing the Cougars to take a quick 13-4 lead. Senior forward Levi Auble entered the game and made an immediate impact with a beautiful jump shot. APU began to connect from behind the arc, stretching the lead to 22-12 on a three-pointer.

Sophomore guard Will Shannon came off the bench and sparked the Eagles with three quick points to close the gap to 27-20. But the three-pointers continued to rain down for the Cougars and APU closed out the half leading 37-23.

“It was a struggle. We shot a poor percentage [and] I don’t think our defense was as good as it needed to be. I think we had some spurts, but I think we got too satisfied when we saw the score and we were only down by a couple,” Treinen said.

FALLING SHORT

The second half started much like the first, as APU went on an 8-0 run, including a thunderous dunk from the Cougars’ Selom Mawugbe to put his team on top 45-23. They continued to pull further ahead, as Mawugbe converted a three-point play for a 53-30 lead.

Bagatourian began to pick up the pace, converting a layup and blocking an APU shot to shift the momentum. Unfortunately, every time the Eagles would close the gap, the Cougars would respond with a run of their own to keep Biola from really coming close.

Bagatourian refused to give up, nailing three consecutive three-pointers. By then, though, the gap had already been widened to 72-55. Although APU had sealed the win well before then, Treinen ended the game on a high note with a one-handed dunk in the closing seconds.

“You play your best when there’s a lot of attention on a game, so I don’t think that was a factor. I just think they outplayed us,” said head coach Dave Holmquist said.

Biola (6-5, 2-3 PacWest) gets a break before resuming play the day after New Year’s at home against Point Loma Nazarene University at 7:30 p.m.  

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About the Contributor
Joel Ashor
Joel Ashor, Sports Editor
Joel Ashor is a junior broadcast journalism major with a love for sports, friends, and history. Joel is a Notre Dame football, Angels baseball, and Boston Celtics fan. [email protected] Growing up in the small city of Santa Maria, California as the youngest of four boys, I was always surrounded by things much earlier than normal, due to the fact that I experienced things through my much older brothers. One of the things I experienced was sports, and when I started watching and seeing what it looked like to be on a sports team, I fell in love. In my family, sports is not really an option, it just is something that we all do. Luckily my parents never had to force me or my brothers to play sports because we all had a passion for it. From a young age I immersed myself in the culture of sports, watching any sport that was on, growing a particular liking to college football. My uncle attended the University of Notre Dame, and my whole family are die-hard Irish fans. Naturally I became one as well, and I remember Saturday mornings with the family quite clearly. As I grew older I began to see and understand more about what it took to broadcast a live sports game, and I became quite intrigued by it. I decided I wanted to be involved with sports for the rest of my life and cover it in some form. One of the sports commentators I look up to greatly and have always liked is NBC sports reporter Bob Costas, who is a jack of all trades broadcaster and covers all sports from the Olympics to football and many more. I aspire to be a broadcast journalist someday, and the Chimes is an excellent way to hone my skills and continue to practice writing and talking about sports. I look forward to my growth while working with the Chimes in reporting accurately and quickly, and cannot wait to cover Biola sports.
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