Men’s basketball took on Concordia University Irvine on Tuesday, prevailing in a 83-76 victory. This is the team’s fifth conference win in a row, moving them to second in the standings only behind Azusa Pacific University.

Redshirt senior guard Chris Rossow was dominant all throughout the game, scoring a team high 27 points while also chipping in four rebounds and four assists. Redshirt senior forward Michael Bagatourian had a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 boards, while redshirt junior guard Alex Wright’s second half breakthrough carried him to 19 points on the night.

ON THE OFFENSE

Biola’s offense was a mixed bag in the first half. While they scored 33 points, and were only down by six points, the team shot 0/3 from 3-point range and were 5/9 on free throws. Rossow was instrumental in keeping Biola in the game, and had 13 points in this period alone.

On the other hand, the Concordia Eagles had made 5/17 threes, and junior guard Wayne Arnold, who is the Pacwest’s second leading scorer (22.2 ppg), had 16 points for his team.

A GAME OF RUNS

The second half was defined by a 20-8 run in the final 6:30 that ultimately gave Biola the win over the visiting Eagles. A pick and roll with Rossow and redshirt freshman Maximo Milovich kickstarted the team, before an layup to Wright got the crowd in the game as well.

A key moment came with 1:39 left, as redshirt senior forward Jesse Elrod drew a charging foul on Concordia’s Arnold as he drove down the lane. Wright then sealed the game with a wide open dunk as Biola took the win, 83-76.

The Eagles (16-4 overall, 10-3 conference) will go on the road to take on Fresno Pacific University on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 4:30 p.m. Footage and stats from the game are located on the Biola Athletics website.