Box Score
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Lamar Lee scored 19 points and
Andre Murillo added 15 poitns and 16 rebounds but it wasn't enough to fend off the upset as Holy Names University defeated No. 15 Biola 67-65 in a non-conference game on Tuesday night at Chase Gymnasium.
The Eagles suffer their first loss of the season and drop to 3-1 while the Hawks, who are an NAIA Division II member, improve to 3-2 overall.
Biola seemed to hold the edge in nearly every category on the stat sheet with two glaring exceptions: turnovers and free throws. The Eagles had a commanding 45-25 rebounding edge and shot 43.6% in the contest to HNU's 39.3%. However that was offset by 20 Biola turnovers whic led to 14 points by the Hawks and 11 missed free throws in 22 attempts.
David Scott put on a clinic for the Hawks, scoring 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Karlos Grier added 13 points and three steals.
The game was close through out with 10 ties and eight lead changes. The largest lead of the game came in the final three minutes as a pair of free throws by Grier gave Holy Names a 62-55 lead with 2:29 left. Biola quickly cut into that lead on the other end as Lee hit a runner in the lane to cut the deficit to five. After milking the clock, Grier missed a driving layup attempt and Zaragoza pulled down the rebound and started a fastbreak which culminated in an easy layup by Murillo to make it a 62-59 game with 1:39 to play.
But the Hawks answered back as Grier drained a three from the top of the key to stretch it back to a six-point game with just over a minute to play. Biola didn't give up and Lee connected on a long three-pointer with 49 seconds left to make it a three-point contest again with 49 seconds on the clock.
As Holy Names rushed down the court to try to beat the Biola pass, the ball slipped out of Grier's hands and out of bounds with 37 seconds to play, giving the Eagles life. But Zaragoza missed a three-point attempt with eight seconds left and Holy Names controlled the rebound and converted a pair of free throws to stretch the lead back to five. Kalipinde ended the game by hitting a three-pointer from the corner as time expired, but it was too late for the Eagles.
Despite falling behind early in the game, Biola took a six-point lead at 20-14 near the midway point of the first half. Trailing 22-16 a few minutes later, Holy Names rallied back with an 8-0 run to go back on top 24-22. Neither team led by more than four the rest of the period and Lee hit a driving layup with seven seconds left to tie the score at 38-38 at the break.
The teams battled back and forth in the second half with Kalipinde hitting a three in front of the Biola bench with 12:21 to go to tie the game at 49-49 and drawing a foul to boot. But as with the theme of the night for the Eagles, he missed the free throw and Holy Names came right back down the court and hit a three to return the lead to three. Biola would not be able to tie or take a lead the rest of the way.
Murrillo picked up his third double-double of the season in the contest, recording 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Eagles with eight offensive and eight defensive rebounds. He was 5-of-8 from the field. Lee was 7-of-14 overall as he led the way with 19 points while Kalipinde added 11 points, four rebounds, a block and a steal.
Biola has little time to shake off the loss, hosting a big game against Cal State San Marcos on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Despite being a first-year program, Cal State San Marcos is a team to reckon with, already beating No. 2 Mountain State (W.V.) and Vanguard this season.
