Men’s basketball came away with a big result against University of Hawaii Hilo on a night that celebrated more than just winning. In February 2021, head coach Dave Holmquist won his 1,000th game, making him one of only five coaches in college basketball history to do so. Former players, coaches and fans stayed after the game to celebrate this amazing accomplishment.

BUCKETS ALL AROUND

The Eagles had a joint top scoring performance from redshirt junior guard Alex Wright and graduate senior forward Michael Bagatourian, both of whom had 17 points. Bagatourian also chipped in six rebounds and four assists, while Wright grabbed eight boards and came away with three steals. Redshirt senior forward Jesse Elrod also had a big scoring night, bringing in 15 points on 3/4 shooting from downtown. Redshirt senior guard Chris Rossow had 13 points and seven assists.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

Biola had a strong first half, but struggled to capitalize on an early 14-5 lead after five minutes. The Vulcans made a quick 8-2 run to make it 16-13 lead for the Eagles with 12 minutes left in the half. A breakthrough came after a steal from Bagatourian led to an and-1 layup by redshirt freshman Maximo Milovich. This led to Biola leading at the half, 41-33.

Biola opened the gap in the second half by attacking the rim. Within four minutes of the second half, the Eagles had already shot more free throws than the whole first half combined. The trend continued, resulting in a 15-point lead with only four minutes left on the clock. The Eagles shot a total of 21 free throws in the second half.

The Vulcans began full-court pressing in the final three minutes, and even cut the lead to only eight points, 82-74, with 53.2 seconds left. However, a pull-up jumpshot by Rossow and a wide open dunk by Wright after an incredible inbounds play closed the game out for Biola, resulting in the 88-78 win.

The Eagles (15-4 overall, 9-3 conference) will be back on the court at Chase Gymnasium against the Concordia University Eagles on Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. Footage and stats from the game are located on the Biola Athletics website.