BOX SCORE
COSTA MESA, Calif. --- Danny Jones scored a season-high 34 points including all nine of Biola's points in overtime as the Eagles beat Vanguard University 58-51 in overtime on Saturday night at The Pit in Costa Mesa.
The Eagles improve to 15-14 on the season and move to 9-10 in GSAC play while the Lions fall to 6-22 and 3-16 in the conference.
Jones was an unstoppable force for Biola, hitting 14-of-17 from the field and pulling down nine rebounds. Solomon Mercado added nine points while Rocky Hampton scored six points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Greg Scott scored 14 points and added six assists for Vanguard with Greg Gusiff adding 13 points.
Biola struggled early in the first half as poor shooting allwed Vanguard to pull out to 22-12 lead with 5:51 to go. However, Biola quickly closed the gap and went to the locker room tied at 27. The Eagles shot just 39-percent in the opening 20 minutes while Vanguard hit 50-percent from the field.
In the second half, the Lions once again pulled ahead, taking a 45-36 lead with 9:33 to go. Biola slowly chipped away and pulled within two at 45-42 on a pair of free throws by Mercado with 5:35 to go. On the next possesion, Vanguard's Dennis Heenan drained a long three-pointer to give the Lions a 48-43 lead with five minutes left.
Still trailing by four with under a minute to play, Jones converted a layup to pull Biola back within two at 48-46 with 39 seconds on the clock. After Kevin Dalafu was able to make just one of two free throws on the other end, Mercado came down and tied up the game with a clutch three-pointer with 21 seconds to play. Vanguard's last-second chance was off the mark and the two teams headed for overtime.
Jones opened the extra period with a layup to give Biola its first lead since holding a 2-0 edge just 27 seconds into the game. From there, the defense stepped up and held Vanguard off the board while Jones took care of things on offense. The Lions were finally able to score with 11 seconds to go, but it was too little, too late.
Biola solidified its place in the GSAC standings with the win as the Eagles move two games ahead of the eighth team in the conference, The Master's College or Fresno Pacific. Biola is a game behind both Westmont and Pt. Loma, but does not hold a tie-breaker against either team.
The Eagles wrap up the regular season by traveling to face arch-rival Azusa Pacific on Monday (Feb. 26). Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
