Box Score
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Junior forward
Andre Murillo scored a game-high 26 points and added 12 rebounds as Biola rebounded from a disappointing loss with a convincing win, beating Cal State San Marcos 66-56 in a non-conference game on Wednesday night.
The Eagles, who suffered an eye-opening loss against Holy Names on Monday, get back on track with the key victory to improve to 4-1 on the season. The Cougars drop to 2-2.
Murillo seemed nearly unstoppable inside, hitting 9-of-15 from the field and rebounding many of his misses for second-chance points. He had seven of his game-high 12 rebounds on the offensive glass and added a block and a steal in 34 minutes. The double-double was his fourth in five games this season.
Junior guard Given Kalipinde also had a great all-around night, scoring 15 points, and adding nine rebounds, six assists, three blocks and three steals.
Wednesday's game seemed to be a complete 180 degree turnaround from Biola's poor showing on Monday. The Eagles played impressive team defense and held the high-scoring Cougars to just 38.6 percent shooting. They also played well on offense, distributing the ball well and used great interior passing to find the wide-open player.
Biola even shot free throws better. After hitting just 50 percent on Monday in a two-point loss, the Eagles converted 17-of-22 (77.3%) on Wednesday including 11-of-13 in the second half, a stat which proved to be a key to the victory.
Biola opened the game strong, jumping out to a 9-4 lead after just six minutes thanks to seven quick points from Murillo to get things going. Cal State San Marcos would close the gap and used an 8-1 run to take a 23-17 lead with 5:15 to play in the half.
The Eagles quickly closed back to within one thanks to three quick points by Kalipinde and a pair of free throws by Murillo and trailed 27-26 at the break.
The Cougars began the second half with a quick five-point run to stretch their lead back to six at 32-26 just over one minute in. But Biola quickly came alive both offensively and defensively, outscoring Cal State San Marcos 21-6 over the next 10 minutes to take a commanding 47-38 lead with 8:35 remaining.
The Cougars snapped out of it with a five-point run capped by a three-point play by Jacob Ranger, making it a 47-43 contest with 7:53 remaining. Biola still clung to a five-point lead of 53-48 with 5:48 to go before a 10-2 run over the next three minutes gave the Eagles their largest lead of the night at 63-50 with 2:33 to play and salted the game away from there.
Zack Zaragoza was the lone other player in double-figures for the Eagles, scoring 11 points and adding six rebounds. Lamar Lee had eight points and two assists on the night for Biola.
Tim Steed, a standout at Fresno State University last year, scored 17 points and had four steals to pace the Cougars while Jacob Ranger--a transfer from NCAA Division I UC Davis--came off the bench to contribute 17 points of his own.
Biola once again held a dominating edge on the boards, out-rebounding Cal State San Marcos 43-23 including pulling down 17 on the offensive glass. That led to 16 second-chance points for the Eagles, who also scored 40 points in the paint.
The Eagles take a bit of a break for the next week, returning to action after Thanksgiving with a road game at Arizona Christian University in Phoenix on Saturday, Nov. 24. Tip off for that non-conference game is slated for 4:00 p.m.
