Box Score IRVINE, Calif. --- Senior
Davey Hopkins scored a game-high 18 points and
Kaimarr Price added 16 as Biola clinched its first trip to the GSAC Tournament Finals in 10 years with a 71-65 win over Point Loma Nazarene in a semifinal match-up on Saturday night at the Concordia Arena in Irvine.
The Eagles--the tournament's No. 3 seed--pick up their seventh-straight win and improve to 24-8 on the season. Biola is now 12-1 in its last 13 games. The second-seeded Sea Lions fall to 20-9 on the season and are almost guaranteed an at-large berth to the NAIA Tournament.
The Eagles travel back to Concordia on Tuesday to face off against their namesake at 7:30 p.m. Top-seeded Concordia easily dispatched of No.4 seed Azusa Pacific 85-62 in the night's other semifinal.
Biola led from start to finish in the contest, answering back each time Point Loma used a run to close the gap. The three-pointer was the weapon of choice for the Sea Lions, who hit 10-of-26 from beyond the arc accounting for nearly half of their points through the first half.
But the Eagles were resilient and managed to answer the call each time. Biola opened the game by jumping out to a 13-5 lead. When the Sea Lions cut that lead to one with a 7-0 run, the Eagles answered right back with a free throw followed two possessions later by a three-pointer by Dakota Anderson to go back up by five.
Later in the half, the Eagles used a 13-2 run capped by a Price jumper to make it a 31-17 lead with 2:45 to go in the half. However, Point Loma responded a few minutes later, starting a 10-0 run which spanned halftime, pulling the Sea Lions to within three at 33-30 three minutes into the second half.
Kalipinde ended the run with a three-pointer at the 16:43 mark to stretch the lead back up to six at 36-30. That started an 9-1 Biola run over the next two minutes as the Eagles stretch the lead back up to double-figures at 42-31.
The game would continue like that with Point Loma closing the gap and Biola pulling away. Even with a lead of 11 after three-straight buckets by Price, the Eagles' 11-point lead with 8:10 to go proved unsafe as well. Point Loma made the game close again with a 10-0 run over the next four minutes, using its three-point barrage to make things interesting.
But, true to form, Biola responded quickly as Andre Murillo hit a layup which started a quick 10-1 run, putting the Biola up 66-56 with just 1:12 to play. Given Kalipinde broke the run wide open with a huge three-pointer with 1:51 to go, giving Biola an eight-point lead at the time.
Despite a three-pointer on the next possession and quick layups by Point Loma down the stretch, Biola held strong, hitting 8-of-10 free throws over the final 1:17 of the game to secure the victory.
Kalipinde had a huge second half after remaining relatively quiet in the first. He scored 12 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes, adding three assists, four rebounds and a steal. Murillo added nine points and four rebounds to help pace the attack.
Four players scored in double-figures for the Sea Lions with Greg Murray and Wil Bush each tallying 16.
The Eagles have not had much success in three previous appearances in the GSAC Tournament Championship Game, all of which have come against Azusa Pacific. Their last trip was in 2001-02 when top-seeded Biola was beat 80-66 by APU in Azusa. The year before, the seeds were switch but the results were the same as the Cougars defeated Biola, 75-69. The Eagles' first trip came in 1997-98, but also resulted in a loss, a close 62-59 setback at Azusa.
Biola has won both games against Concordia this year, accomplishing a season sweep against CUI for the first time since the 2001-02 season. Biola won 83-68 in La Mirada back in early January and cruised to a 75-62 win in Irvine in February.
