LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Westmont hit nine three-pointers and Biola just could not keep pace as the Warriors pulled off the 75-70 upset victory over the No. 4-ranked Eagles in a GSAC game on Tuesday night at Chase Gymnasium.
The loss drops Biola out of the top spot in the conference as the Eagles fall to 23-3, 13-3 in GSAC play. The Warriors pick up their fourth-straight victory and improve to 18-7, 10-6 overall.
The Warriors were nearly unstoppable beyond the three-point line, knocking down 9-of-18 including six in the second half. Westmont was also able to withstand a late rally by the Eagles, who cut a double-digit deficit down to just two in the closing minute.
Matt LeDuc led the three-point barrage for the Warriors, hitting 5-of-9 in the game for 16 points. Dan Rasp also added 14 points on 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
Senior center
Rocky Hampton was Biola's leading scorer, recording his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Senior guard
Danny Campbell added 14 points while senior guard
Marlon King finished with 11.
The Eagles got the upper hand early on, using a quick 8-1 run to open a 14-7 lead nine minute in. But seven-straight points by Westmont moments later tied the score at 16-16, capped by a three-pointer by Preston Branson. After going back-and-forth for the rest of the half, the Warriors were able to pull away a bit with a three-pointer by Rasp with 30 seconds left which gave them a 33-29 edge at the half.
After the teams opened the second half by matching baskets on either end, Andrew Schmalbach put the Warriors up by eight at 42-34 with the first three-pointer of the half. Biola used a quick six-point run to cut the lead to two only to see LeDuc answer right back with back-to-back treys to stretch the lead to eight. Then after an offensive foul on the Eagles, John Miller hit a turn-around jumper in the lane to stretch the lead up to 10 at 50-40 with 11:03 to go.
Each time Biola would get a bit of a run going, Westmont seemed to dial up a three-pointer to quash the momentum. The Eagles though they got something going with just over four minutes left as King and Campbell hit back-to-back jumpers to cut their deficit to 57-53. But again, LeDuc saw his opening and drained a straight-away three to make it seven. After miss on the other end, Blake Bender hit a fast-break layup and just like that Westmont was back up nine with 2:32 left.
Biola made one final push thanks to some missed free throws by the Warriors. Hampton hit a jumper in the lane with 51 seconds left and after Schmalbach missed the front end of a one-and-one, Campbell pulled the Eagles within two on a three with 44 seconds to play.
But Schmalbach would redeem himself by hitting his next four free throws and the Eagles could get no closer than two the rest of the way.
The loss is just the second by Biola at home this season and the third overall. It also snaps the Eagles' four-game series winning streak.
The Warriors finished the game by shooting 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field and 50 percent (9-of-18) from three-point range. Biola hit 50 percent (29-of-58) as well, but was just 5-of-18 from long-range. Westmont also held the edge in free throws, converting 14-of-20 from the charity stripe while Biola was 7-of-10.
Biola returns to action on Saturday (Feb. 20) looking to right the ship. However, its a tall task as the Eagles travel to Irvine to face No. 3 Concordia in a GSAC battle at 7:30 p.m. at CUI Arena.
