LA MIRADA, Calif. --- A trio of missed opportunities down the stretch cost Biola its chance in the GSAC Tournament as the Eagles were upset 65-63 by Point Loma Nazarene University in a conference quarterfinal match on Thursday night at Chase Gymnasium.

The Eagles see their seven-game winning-streak come to an end as they fall to 26-5 on the season. Point Loma, which must at least reach the conference championship game to earn an NAIA Tournament berth, improves to 15-15 overall.

The closely contested match came down to the wire in a similar fashion to the game Biola won over Point Loma when the two met one week ago in the Eagles' regular-season finale. However, this one ended with a different result as the Sea Lions hit the clutch shot and Biola could not counter.

With Biola leading by one with under one minute to go, Marek Klassen drained a straight-away three-pointer to put Point Loma up 65-63 with 57 seconds left. The Eagles came down and missed a pair of three-pointers, the second of which was rebounded by the Sea Lions with 17 seconds left.

Having committed just two fouls to that point, Biola had to foul five times to put Point Loma on the line. After four fouls, the Eagles caught a break as the inbounds pass was fumbled by the Sea Lions and Nate Rakestraw dove to the floor to force a jump ball. The possession arrow was pointing Biola's way, giving the home team one last shot with seven seconds left. 

After a timeout, Biola's Dwight Gordon missed a runner in the lane, but Andrew Schroeder pulled down the rebound and was fouled on the attempted putback with 0.9 seconds to go. 

However, Schroeder missed the first free throw and after intentionally missing the second, the Sea Lions were able to secure the loose ball as time expired.

Klassen's three was his sixth of the night as he led all scorers with 22 points. The two teams combined for 23 three-pointers in the game.

After missing his first nine shots of the night, Curtis Eatmon came out with a big second half, scoring a team-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the second period. 

The game was an exciting one from start to finish, featuring five ties and 15 lead changes. Neither team held a lead of more than six in the game.

Biola's largest lead came in the second half as a three-pointer by Shane Mahoney gave the Eagles a 54-48 lead with 8:42 remaining. The lead was short-lived as Rhett Beal and Klassen hit back-to-back threes on the next two Point Loma possessions to tie the score. 

The Eagles still led by four with under five to play but a layup by Beal and three by Klassen erased Biola's edge. Biola would take its final lead of the game on a jumper by Eatmon in front of the Biola bench which appeared to clearly be a three, but was called a two by the officials. 

Despite the loss, Biola is still in good shape to earn an at-large berth to the NAIA National Tournament which begins March 16 in Kansas City, Mo. The Eagles were ranked No. 11 in the latest NAIA poll and though they will likely drop a bit, will likely be making their third-straight trip to the tourney.