LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Senior guard Nate Rakestraw drained six three-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points and No. 16 Biola held off a late charge by the visitors to earn a 74-63 victory over Fresno Pacific University in a GSAC game on Tuesday night at Chase Gymnasium.

The Eagles record their ninth-straight win to improve to 16-1 on the season and remain in second place in the conference with a 6-1 record. The Sunbirds fall to 11-5, 4-3 in GSAC play.

Rakestraw led all scorers with 21 points, hitting 6-of-10 from three-point range and adding three free throws. Senior guard Dwight Gordon chipped in 13 points and had four assists while Josh Miller and Curtis Eatmon each added 10.

The first half of the game was not particularly entertaining as neither team shot well and the halftime score resembled a hard-fought football game rather than a college basketball tilt. However, both teams vastly improved in the second half, providing for an entertaining finish.

Biola held Fresno Pacific to just 14 points in the first half as the Sunbirds recorded just five field goals in the opening 20 minutes. Four of those were three-pointers, though, keeping the game relatively close. The Eagles managed just 24 points on 8-of-25 (32 percent) shooting. 

Biola opened a the game with an early 9-0 lead, holding FPU without a field goal over the first stretch. Fresno would finally hit their first field goal of the game as Deshawn Legree drained a three-pointer just under seven minutes in. Fresno would cut the lead with a 9-1 run, closing the gap to 10-9 on a trey by Adam Kado.

The Eagles would stretch the lead back up to eight and headed to the half with a 24-14 lead.

In the second half, the scoring came much easier for both sides. Biola got the early drop, using a quick 10-0 run to take a 36-19 lead with 16:19 remaining. Casper Hesseldal hit a three on the next possession to end the run, but Biola continued to pull away and eventually took a 45-25 lead on an Eatmon runner in the lane with 12:46 to play. 

Fresno wasn't ready to go away, though and came out of a timeout two minutes later with a full court press. The press frustrated Biola's guards, forcing a number of turnovers and helping the Sunbirds close to within 10 on a jumper by Hessedal with 2:54 to play. But they could get no closer the rest of the way as Biola held on for the win.

The Eagles shot an impressive 59.1 percent in the second half, hitting 13-of-22 from the field to finish with a 44.7 percent shooting night. Fresno Pacific's number also improved in the second half as the Sunbirds hit 27.3 percent to finish with a 31.3 percent night.

Kado led Fresno with 15 points, connecting on 5-of-8 from the field, while Jordan Wild contributed 11 points and eight rebounds. 

Biola returns to the court on Friday for a huge GSAC road contest, traveling to Irvine to face Concordia University at 7:30 p.m. Biola trails the defending GSAC champs by just one game in the conference standings.