BOX SCORE
LA MIRADA, Calif. — Biola scored eight points in the final 45 seconds and had the ball with a chance to tie the game in the final 10 seconds, but were unable to pull off the frantic finish as No. 25 Vanguard held on for a 77-75 win in a GSAC game Saturday night at Chase Gymnasium.
The Eagles drop to 16-13 with the loss and fall to 8-11 in GSAC play while the Lions move to 19-9 and 12-7 in the conference.
The game was a thriller from start to finish and featured 12 lead changes and seven ties. It appeared as though Vanguard iced the game with 45 seconds to play as Greg Gusiff hit a pair of free throws up 77-67. But Danny Jones started the run by converting on a three-point play with 30 seconds to go.
Biola then quickly forced a turnover on a fast break chance for the Lions and came back down and pulled within five on a layup by Danny Campbell with 18 seconds to go. A quick foul put Vanguard's Dennis Heenan on the line, but he missed the front end of the one-and-one. Jones pulled down the rebound and quickly fired the ball ahead to Campbell who drained a deep three-pointer to make it a two point game.
Another quick foul send Brian Roberts to the free throw line, but he too missed the front end of a one-and-one with Jones pulling down the rebound. Marlon King brought the ball down the court and drove down the lane but missed an off-balance runner with time ticking down. Jones was able to get the rebound and was fouled on the putback, sending him to the free throw line with just eight-tenths of a second left. However, he missed the first free throw and the Eagles were unable to get the final rebound after the intentional miss on the second one as the horn sounded.
After a sluggish first half, Biola trailed 37-31 at intermission. The Eagles opened the second half strong and took back the lead at 44-42 on a jumper by Rocky Hampton. Biola went up six at 56-50 on a jumper by Josh Salo with 10:25 to play. At that point, the Eagles had outscored Vanguard 25-13 in the second half.
Vanguard then went to Gusiff who scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half. Gusiff drained three of his eight three-pointers in the final four minutes and carried the Lions to the victory.
Jones led Biola with 21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists on the night. Campbell added 17 points thanks to three three-pointers with Rocky Hampton scoring 10 points.
Biola's playoff chances will now rest in the results of the final games of the regular season. The Eagles need to either beat Azusa Pacific on Monday (Mar. 3) or hope for The Master's to beat Westmont in Santa Barbara. Otherwise, Biola will miss the playoffs for just the first time in the last 35 seasons.
The Eagles host their arch-rivals, Azusa Pacific, on Monday (Mar. 3) at 7:30 p.m. The game is completely sold out and all fans must have a ticket to get in. Doors open at 4:30 for the women's game which will tip off at 5:30 p.m.
