Box Score IRVINE, Calif. --- For the first time in program history, Biola won the GSAC Tournament title, defeating top-seeded Concordia University 81-77 behind a strong 21-point effort from the team's lone senior Davey Hopkins on Tuesday night at the CU Arena.

Biola, seeded third in the tournament and ranked No. 19 in the latest NAIA National Poll, records its eighth-straight win and its 13th in the last 14 games overall, improving to 25-8 on the season. Concordia, which is ranked No. 4 in the NAIA Poll, drops to 26-7. The NAIA Tournament awaits both teams with the final rankings and tournament pairings announced on Wednesday. While the berths had been secured ahead of time, the energy from both teams and all 2,400 fans made it seem like a loser-out affair.

Hopkins had another solid game, scoring a game-high 21 points including 11 from the free throw line and 15 in the second half. He added five assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals. Chase Adams came up huge in the opening 20 minutes and finished with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Given Kalipinde scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half, adding four assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Biola led by as many as 14 in the first half, but saw that lead evaporate at the start of the second half. However, the Eagles kept their cool and answered back each time.

Late in the contest, a three-pointer by GSAC Player of the Year Cameron Gliddon gave Concordia a one-point lead at 69-68 with 4:21 to play and ignited the capacity crowd. But on the next possession he tried to shutdown the baseline on a drive to the hole by Hopkins and was whistled for his fifth foul. Hopkins would drain the two free throws and give Biola the lead back for good.

With the lead up to three with 1:41 to play, Kaimarr Price recorded the final of his game-high three blocks, stuffing a jumper by Austin Simon and Hopkins came away with the rebound. Andre Murillo was fouled and made the pair to make it a five-point game.

Concordia would then go for quick two-pointers and eventually cut the lead to two at 79-77 with seconds left after Biola missed a pair of free throws and Donnell Phifer hit a quick jumper on the other end. But Adams came up big in the clutch, sinking a pair of free throws to make it a two possession game. Concordia's last chance three-pointer effort missed and Biola secured the rebound and the conference title.

Free throws proved to be the key down the stretch as Biola's last field goal came at the 9:36 mark on a layup by Hopkins which he converted into a three-point play after being fouled. From that point on, Biola went to the line 27 times, making 23 of those, well above its season average of 63% from the line coming in.

Meanwhile, Concordia's weapon of choice was the three-pointer. Concordia hit nine in the game including seven the second half to stay in the game.

Biola's two big advantages came thanks to stellar defense and scoring in the paint. Biola forced 16 Concordia turnovers and converted them into 26 points while Concordia was able to get just 13 points of Biola's 14 turnovers. In addition, Biola outscored Concordia 14-4 in second-chance points, out-rebounding the home side 38-33 including a 13-10 edge in offensive boards.

Phifer led Concordia with 18 points and five assists, registering 16 of those points in the second half. Gliddon had 14 points before fouling out and Tommy Granado added 12.

Biola pulled off an impressive feat, beating Concordia in all three match-ups between the two this season. In addition, Tuesday's win was its second-straight win over Concordia in Irvine after winning just once at the CU Arena over the last 10 years.

Biola broke the first half open with a long 15-0 run over four-minute stretch, turning an 11-10 deficit into a 25-11 lead with 8:16 to go in the half. Concordia rallied over the final two minutes of the half to cut the lead to single digits, using a 9-0 run to make it a 32-28 game. Adams drained a big three-pointer off an offensive rebound to make the score 35-28 at the half.

Concordia came out strong in the second half, carrying over the momentum with a 10-2 to take a 38-37 lead three minutes in. Biola answered a few minutes later to take back the lead on a Kalipinde three, then stretch it to four on a Kalipinde steal and Adams fastbreak layup. That would make it 44-40 with 15:25 to play.

Concordia continued to close the gap but Biola started to slowly pull away. After calling its fifth timeout with just under 10 minutes left in the half, Biola ran a great play out of the timeout with Hopkins cutting to the lane, hitting the layup and getting fouled. He would convert the free throw to make it a 59-51 game with 9:36 left.

Still down by eight a few minutes later, Concordia managed one final charge, using a 12-4 run which included three three-pointers to take back the lead at 66-65, setting up the thrilling conclusion.

The tournament championship game appearance was the first for Biola in 10 years and the title was Biola's first in four attempts since joining the conference in 1993-94. The Eagles had lost their three previous trips to the finals to Azusa Pacific. Biola had won numerous titles when national tournament berths were awarded through District qualification prior to its GSAC days.

The victory also marks the second time this year a Biola team has defeated top-seeded Concordia in Irvine to win a GSAC Tournament title. In November, the men's soccer team overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Concordia 3-2 in double overtime.

Biola's NAIA Tournament appearance will be its fourth-straight and its 19th overall. The Eagles have the sixth-most appearances by current NAIA teams and are 23-18 overall at the tournament. Among the previous 18 appearances, Biola has finished in the top four twice (2nd 1981-82; 3rd 1999-00) and made seven trips to the quarterfinals. Last season, the Eagles made their second-straight appearance in the NAIA Quarterfinals, falling 66-63 to Martin Methodist College.