IRVINE, Calif. --- Despite a strong shooting night by Biola, Concordia broke open a close game with a nine-point second-half run to pull out a 70-61 victory on Saturday night at CU Arena in what proved to be another thriller between the top two teams in the GSAC.

Biola drops its second-straight game and falls to 23-4 on the year and to 13-4 in conference play while Concordia solidifies its spot at the top of the GSAC standings at 15-2 and moves to 25-2 overall.

Senior center Rocky Hampton had a game-high 18 points to lead three Biola players in double figures, hitting 8-of-11 shots and adding nine rebounds, two blocks and two assists. His strong showing helped Biola shoot an impressive 51.2 percent in the game while holding Concordia to just 45.8 percent shooting.

However, Biola's shooting percentage from the field was better than its shooting percentage from the free throw line as the visitors hit just 10-of-22 from the charity stripe, leaving 12 points on the floor. The other glaring stat was Biola's 18 turnovers which led to 21 Concordia points.

The game got off to a good start for Biola, which led through the vast majority of the first half. Biola led by as many as five points on two different occasions in the first half, using a four-point run to go up 26-21 with 4:50 left in the period. A bucket by Danny Campbell extended the lead back to five with 2:08 to go, but Concordia quickly ended the half with a seven-point run and took a 30-28 lead to the half.

In the second, Biola's defense stepped up big, holding Concordia to just one field goal over the first 11:20 of the period. Concordia was 1-of-8 over that stretch, committing six of its 11 turnovers and scoring nine of its 11 points from the free throw line. While this would have been a perfect time for Biola to stretch its lead and prepare to cruise down the stretch, it turned out to be just a futile for the visitors as Concordia somehow managed to extend its lead to four over the course of those nearly 12 minutes.

The final four free throws scored by Concordia keyed the all-important nine-point run, as Concordia went up 46-37 with 8:07 to play. The home side would stretch its lead to as many as 12 down the stretch and never really trailed despite a frantic finish by both teams, which made up for the lack of scoring over the long dry spell.

Marlon King finished the contest with 16 points for Biola with Josh Miller adding 10 points and nine rebounds. Despite a strong first half, Danny Campbell finished with just eight points--his lowest output since he scored eight when the two teams last met in early January.

Justin Johnson led Concordia with a game-high 21 points while point guard Terrence Worthy contributed 13.

Biola now sits just one game ahead of Fresno Pacific in the conference standings and two ahead of Westmont with three games left in the season. The conference title is virtually out of reach as Biola is two games back of Concordia, which now holds the tiebreaker having swept the season series.

The Eagles look to snap their losing streak on Tuesday (Feb. 23), heading up to take on The Master's College in Santa Clarita at 7:30 p.m.