Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Donte Nicholas hit a running jumper in the lane with less than a second to go as Biola let a four-point lead with 17 seconds left slip away as Fresno Pacific stunned the Eagles 60-59 in a GSAC game on Tuesday night at Chase Gymnasium.
The loss drops the Eagles to 12-7 on the season with their third-straight defeat and move to 2-5 in GSAC play. The Sunbirds improve to 12-6 and to 3-4 in the the conference.
It looked as though Biola would win the game as Given Kalipinde drained a three pointer with 31 seconds left to break a tie and give Biola a 58-55 lead. The Eagles then forced a turnover on the other end and Chase Adams went to the line for two free throws, converting one to make it a 59-55 game.
But Fresno Pacific quickly came down the other way and Nicholas hit a layup and was fouled with 10 seconds left. He hit the free throw to make it a one-point game. The Sunbirds quickly fouled Zack Zaragoza with nine seconds to go and but the sophomore would miss both free throws giving FPU a final chance. Nicholas would make them pay by hitting the runner with under a second to go.
Kalipinde would take one final three-quarter court heave as the buzzer sounded, just missing off the side of the rim.
Adams led Biola with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting while Davey Hopkins added 14. Kalipinde finished with seven points.
The Eagles overcame a poor shooting half and a 13-point second-half deficit to pull out the dramatic win. Biola shot just 36.4% in the first half, but hit 50% in the second and clamped down on defense late.
Biola got off to a quick start in the game, opening up a 10-4 lead through the first three minutes thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Adams and two fastbreak layups. But Fresno Pacific quickly rallied back to tie the game at 10-10 at the teams went back and forth over the course of the next 10 minutes. Fresno Pacific then closed out the half with 9-1 run to break the game open and take a 36-26 lead to the half.
The Sunbirds kept up the momentum early in the second half, stretching the lead to 13 with three free throws in the opening minute. Still trailing by 13 at 41-28 two minutes later, Biola came alive. Kaimarr Price, who scored all six of his points in the second half, picked up the pace early on, leading the Eagles on a 10-1 run to cut the deficit to four at 42-38 with 12:54 to go.
The teams would exchange buckets over the course of the next eight minutes with Biola unable to get closer than two. However, after a solid defensive stop, Adams converted a pair of free throws to tie the game at 50-50 with 4:58 to play. After a basket by the Sunbirds, Biola took its first lead since midway through the first half with a three-pointer by Zack Zaragoza.
After a great defensive stand, Biola ended up getting a pair of great offensive rebounds, giving them a chance with the score tied and 1:01 to play. After a timeout, the Eagles got a three-pointer by Kalipinde with 31 seconds left, which looked to be the game-winner, but instead set up the wild finish.
The close loss was another tough one for the Eagles, who are now 2-7 in games decided by six or fewer points this season. All seven of their losses have come by a combined total of 24 points.
Nicholas led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting with Eric Hipolito adding 13 and Matt Christman contributing 12 for the Sunbirds.
The Eagles managed to hit 45.7% in the game from the field but struggled from the free throw line, converting just 13-of-24 from the charity stripe.
The Fresno Pacific win was just the fourth in 35 all-time games against the Eagles in La Mirada.
Biola closes out its mini two-game home stand, hosting Hope International University in a GSAC contest on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
