LA MIRADA, Calif. --- California Baptist used a big first-half run to pull away and wound up scoring more points than any other Biola opponent this year, knocking off the Eagles 80-70 in the first round of the GSAC playoffs on Wednesday night at Chase Gymnasium.

The Eagles, who fall to 22-9 overall, may have seen their NAIA tournament hopes dashed at the hands of the Lancers, who improve to 22-8 on the season. Biola is now squarely on the bubble, hoping to earn one of the 14 potential at-large berths into the tournament after the tough home defeat. 

The game proved to be a frustrating one from start to finish for the Eagles, who prided themselves on defense throughout the season, holding opponents to an NAIA-low 56 points per game. However Cal Baptist, who had fallen twice at the hands of Biola during the regular season, hit 53 percent from the field and scored 80 points--the most given up by the Eagles this year. 

The Lancers broke open an incredibly tight game with a 25-5 run and held an impressive 40-25 lead heading into the half. The Eagles had led 18-15 as the clock ticked under the 10 minute mark with a surprisingly loud home crowd cheering them on. But Biola went ice cold after that, hitting just 1-of-6 shots over a nine-minute stretch and turning the ball over five times. The tide turned during the stretch as the Lancers converted Biola's 11 turnovers into 18 points.

In the second half, Cal Baptist continued to push ahead, taking its largest lead of the game at 48-27 on a pair of free throws by Davey Hopkins. With 16:10 left Cal Baptist's Omar Krayem drained a long three-pointer--one of 10 for the Lancers on the night--which made the score 51-31 and nearly silenced the Biola crowd. 

But the Eagles weren't finished quite yet. Marlon King responded with a three-pointer and Josh Miller hit a three from the top of the key a few possessions later, bringing the crowd back to life and cutting the lead to 14. After a Cal Baptist layup, Biola came right back with another three, this time by Danny Campbell, to cut it back to 13. That was followed by two jumpers by Campbell and Rocky Hampton as the Eagles pulled the score back within nine at 53-44 with 11:38 to go.

However, Biola was unable to stop the Cal Baptist offense after that as the Lancers continued to match Biola's each and every shot. The Eagles showed a bit of late life, hitting four three-pointers over the course of the final 1:30 including a four-point play converted by Campbell which pulled it to within six at 73-67 with 58 seconds left. They made it a five-point game off a three-pointer by King after a pair of CBU free throws just nine seconds later. Mark Roussin, who led the Lancers with 27 points on the night, left the door cracked by hitting just one of two free throws on the other end, but the Eagles could not convert a three-pointer on the other end and Cal Baptist's free throws over the next 30 seconds sealed the deal.

Campbell led the Eagles with 25 points on the night, connecting on 5-of-11 from beyond the three-point line and adding five rebounds. Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds while Hampton added 10 points and five rebounds. 

Biola now will wait and see if the powers that be in the NAIA choose the Eagles as one of the at-large selections. The 32 teams selected to the tournament will be announced on Wednesday, March 11 with the tournament beginning the following Wednesday (March 18).