Men’s basketball traveled to Fresno on Monday night to take on the Fresno Pacific University Sunbirds. The Eagles commanded the first half, and even with a couple slip-ups in the second, found a way to clench the victory, 77-22. With just one more regular season game left, BU has taken the final spot in the PacWest postseason tournament.

It was a collective effort from the Eagles in their Monday night win. Junior forward Jesse Elrod led the team in points, totaling 17 on the night along with four rebounds and two assists. Junior guard Michael Bagatourian was one rebound away from a double-double, racking up 16 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Junior guard Chris Rossow also collected 16 points as well as four rebounds and four assists. Sophomore guard Alex Wright was the power force in the paint, grabbing 13 rebounds.

DEFENSIVE MODE

Both teams scored 44 points in the paint, over half of their overall points, but it was the Eagles’ consistency that gave them the edge over FPU. Concrete defense shut down the Sunbirds in the first half, as they shot under 35% from the field. The Eagles shot a steady game, hovering around the 46% mark all night. BU continued to advance on the offensive end, pulling away from Fresno Pacific at the end of 20 minutes up 37-26.

The Sunbirds put up a little bit of a fight late in the second half. However, FPU sent the Eagles the line 15 times, to which they sunk 14 of their free points. These late clutch free throws sealed the game for Biola in the remaining minutes, winning their third game in a row, 77-72.

The Eagles (16-11 overall, 12-9 PacWest) will head into senior night at Chase Gymnasium on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. to take on Concordia University Irvine.