Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola's
Zack Zaragoza scored a team-high 17 points and
Dakota Anderson added 12 but a late three-pointer gave the University of Victoria a 55-52 win over the Eagles on Saturday afternoon at Chase Gymnasium.
The loss drops the Eagles to 8-5 on the season while the Vikes improve to 10-6 with their second win is as many years against Biola.
The Eagles struggled early on against Victoria, falling behind by nine at the mid-way point of the first half and trailing by as many as 10 with 6:07 to go in the half. Biola rallied and cut the deficit to three but went into halftime trailing 25-19.
The second half saw Biola pull to within one on a number of occasions only to see the Vikes stretch the lead back to as many as seven. The Eagles finally tied the game back up for the first time since the beginning of the game with a pair of free throws by Anderson, making it 48-48 with 5:27 left.
The score remained close down the stretch until Brandon Dunlop drained a three-pointer to break a 50-50- tie and make it a three-point lead with 2:28 left. Biola cut the lead back to one with a fast break coast-to-coast layup by Christopher Jones with 1:27 left, but could not take advantage of a 2-on-1 break with under a minute left, turning the ball over with 37 seconds on the clock.
Victoria would convert a pair of free throws after being fouled with 22 seconds left and a tough three-pointer by Zaragoza missed the mark with eight seconds to go. The Vikes missed the front-end of a one-and-one on the other end with the ball going out of bounds to Biola with four seconds left. But a long pass was knocked away and the Vikes were able to run out the clock to end the game.
Terrell Evans was the key to the Victoria offense, scoring 22 points and adding 13 rebounds, leading the Vikes in both categories. Michael Acheampong added 11 points.
Biola shot well, hitting 41.2 percent from the field overall after including a 52 percent clip in the second half. The Eagles were out-rebounded by a 36-22 margin, but stuck around by forcing 19 turnovers.
Biola returns to action in 2013, traveling to Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday, January 2 at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles then come home to take on West Coast Baptist College on Thursday, January 3 at 7:30 p.m.
