Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. ---
Given Kalipinde drained a key three-pointer with just over four minutes left to give Biola the lead for good and end a long seesaw battle, propelling the Eagles to a 67-62 win over Point Loma Nazarene University in a key GSAC showdown on Saturday night at Chase Gymnasium.
Biola rebounds from a tough loss earlier this week to improve to 18-8 on the season and move into a tie for fifth place in the GSAC with a record of 8-6. The Eagles have won six of their last seven games. The Sea Lions fall to 16-7 overall and are tied for third just one game ahead of Biola at 9-5.
Kalipinde finished with 19 points in the game with 18 of them coming in the second half. Fellow guard Chase Adams carried the team in the first half, scoring 19 points in the game with 14 of those coming in the first half.
The game saw seven ties and 13 lead changes and came down to the final possession as a number of recent games between the two have. After trailing by nine points with 11:22 to play, Biola rallied and scored the next 10-straight points to take a 45-44 lead four minutes later. The teams would again go back and forth until Kalipinde started a final run with a three to take a 52-50 lead with 4:24 to play.
An offensive foul on the next Pt. Loma Nazarene possession gave the ball back to the Eagles and Andre Murillo made them pay, converting a three-point play to stretch the lead up to five. Just a few minutes later, the Sea Lions would hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three only to see Adams convert a three-point play of his own to make it a six-point game with 2:31 to go.
In the final minutes, Point Loma kept the Biola lead to four or five and cut it to three on a three-pointer by Javonte Sles with two seconds left. However, Given Kalipinde hit both free throws on the other end to seal the victory for the Eagles.
Biola shot well in the contest, hitting 51.4% from the field and 50% (5-of-10) from three-point range. The Eagles had made 24 of 33 free throws in a physical game which saw a total of 51 fouls called.
Neither team could take much of a lead in the first half as the teams remained close. Point Loma jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead only to see Biola answer with nine-straight points over a three-minute stretch to take the lead back. Adams would hit a three-pointer at the 12:23 mark to give Biola its largest lead of the half at 15-11 as he scored as many points as the Sea Lions to that point in the game. Point Loma would get a tip-in basket with 39 seconds left to take a 28-27 lead to the break.
Biola briefly held a pair of one-point leads early in the second half until the Sea Lions used a 9-1 run to take its largest lead of the game at 44-35 and set up the thrilling finish.
The Eagles were in an unfamiliar position, being out-rebounded 33-26 with Point Loma recording 15 boards on the offensive end. The Sea Lions also outscored Biola 30-24 in the paint and 18-5 on second-chance points.
Greg Murray came off the bench to score 18 points to lead Point Loma with Rhett Beal adding 11. Marek Klassen, who torched the Eagles for 17 points with five three-pointers in the earlier meeting between the two, was held to just eight point and one three-pointer. In fact, the Sea Lions hit just four from beyond the arc after connecting on nine earlier this season.
Biola heads back on the road next week with a pair of GSAC games. The Eagles head up to Fresno Pacific to face the Sunbirds in a GSAC game on Tuesday, then head over to Fullerton to battle Hope International University on Saturday. Both games are slated for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
