Men’s basketball played their first conference game on Thursday night to face off against the Fresno Pacific University Sunbirds. Biola put points on the board first and secured an early four-point lead, but the Sunbirds quickly tied the game in the first half. It was back and forth between the two teams for the first half. The Eagles were up at the half securing a solid lead, eventually winning the game, 84-76.

NEW RECORD SET

Redshirt senior forward Michael Bagatourian set a new career record, leading the Eagles and scoring 36 points in one game. Biola had a 50 field goal percentage and a 87.5 free-throw percentage, more than 20% increase from their last match. Biola scored 40 points in the paint, 16 points from the bench and gained 14 fast break points.

OVERCOMING THE OPPONENT

The game was even between the Sunbirds and the Eagles. The Sunbirds tied the score early on in the first half, but the Eagles swiftly pulled ahead. FPU tied the game twice more in the first half. Regardless of FPU catching up, the Eagles had a six-point lead at the half. 

Biola continued the momentum into the second half. The Eagles seamlessly led the second half to victory over the Sunbirds, 84-76.

Men’s basketball (7-1 overall, 1-0 conference) will return home on Dec. 4 to face off against Holy Names University at 4 p.m. Footage from today’s game can be found on the Biola Athletics website.