Men’s basketball got their first win of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 19, with a strong all-around performance at home against La Sierra University. Junior guard Chris Rossow led the Eagles with 27 points, four assists and four steals.

STRONG START

The Eagles started the game strong and continued to excel throughout the first half, mounting up a 29-9 lead. They were dominant inside, with Russow, junior forward Michael Bagatourian and senior guard Marquise Mosley all attacking the rim early. They, along with junior forward Jesse Elrod and sophomore forward Solomon Ruddell combined for 16 points in the first eight minutes of the game. The first three of the game came at the 11-minute mark from Russow, who would finish the game with four made three-pointers. At the end of the first half, the Eagles were up 45-32.

“Each game we’d like to have a good mix of inside and outside scoring if we can, and we wanted to get more scoring inside then have the first couple games,” said head coach Dave Holmquist.

CLOSING OUT

The Eagles also set the tone defensively, shown by their 11 steals. Offensively, BU continued to pound the ball in the paint in the second half. La Sierra eventually started doubling in the post on Bagatourian, Elrod and Ruddell. That wasn’t enough as the Eagles continued to dominate, jumping out to a 60-45 lead at the 13:30 minute mark of the second half. However, the Golden Eagles fought back, making a run and bringing the score back to 69-60. 

BU quickly put out La Sierra’s spark with Bagatourian, Rossow and Mosley running the show, combining for 17 points in the final eight minutes. Biola held on to their offensive reign, finishing out the game 94-79, securing their first win of the season.

Rossow finished with the team-high 27 points, while Mosley had 15 points in total and Bagatourian had 17 points. Sophomore guard Alex Wright also chipped eight points and seven rebounds.

“It felt good, [to] get back in rhythm. [I] haven’t played since last year, so it felt good,” Rossow said.

The Eagles (1-2) will be back in action on Thursday, Nov. 21, at Chase Gymnasium against Pommona-Pitzer College.