Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. ---
Kyle Bailey had a career night with 16 points on 5-for-5 shooting but it wasn't enough for Biola to pull off the upset, falling 77-61 to No. 8 Westmont in the GSAC opener for both teams on Tuesday night at Murchison Gymnasium.
The Eagles drop to 10-7 on the season and to 0-1 in GSAC play while the Warriors move to 13-3 and are now 1-0 in conference action.
Bailey was a perfect from the field in the game, scoring 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting including 3-of-3 from three-point range, adding four rebounds and three assists. Mike Kurtz added 14 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the year.
Notably missing for the Biola lineup were its two top scorers in David Cline and Zack Zaragoza. Cline missed the entire game for unspecified reasons while Zaragoza suffered an injury near the end of the first half and did not return to the game.
The final score really didn't reflect how close the game was throughout as the Warriors pulled away with free throws down the stretch.
The Eagles got the first bucket of the game as Kurtz hit a jumper and was fouled just 15 seconds in. He would hit the free throw to put Biola up 3-0. But Warriors scored the next 11 points to take an 11-3 lead just four minutes in. Trailing 18-8 at the 12:44 mark, Biola used a long 20-8 run over the next seven minutes to take back the lead at 28-26 on a Zaragoza jumper.
Zaragoza would drain a three after Westmont tied it back up to give Biola a 31-28 lead with 4:46 in the half. But Westmont responded with an eight-point run over the next two minutes and went to the break holding a 40-35 lead.
The second half started out slow for both teams with each scoring just four points over the first five minutes of the period. Westmont's offense came alive while the Eagles continued to struggle as the home team used a 10-0 run to take a 56-41 lead midway through the half.
David Swatz ended the run with a bucket at the 9:49 mark and Bailey drained a pair of three-pointers to cut the lead back down to seven at 56-49 with 7:52 remaining. But Biola could get no closer the rest of the way as Westmont pulled away down the stretch for the win.
Biola struggled to hold onto the ball, committing 17 turnovers leading to 21 points by the Warriors. The Eagles shot 39.3 percent in the contest to Westmont's 42.9 percent.
Jeremy Pope scored 11 points and had five assists and three steals in his first game with the Eagles. Pope, who transferred to Biola from San Jose State University, played 29 minutes in his debut and added four rebounds.
Preston Branson scored a game-high 23 points, adding five rebounds and three steals. Jordan Sachs contributed 17 points while Christopher Miller scored 13.
The game was just one of four crazy ones on the first day of the GSAC schedule. Tops on the list was GSAC newcomer Arizona Christian knocking off two-time defending conference champion and No. 15 Concordia 84-82 in its first-ever GSAC game. Hope International improved to 16-1 on the season with a 73-66 victory at The Master's College and San Diego Christian beat Vanguard in Costa Mesa, 74-67.
At the end of the first day of GSAC play, Hope International, San Diego Christian and Arizona Christian sit atop the conference standings with Westmont.
Biola returns to action on Saturday, hosting Vanguard in a GSAC showdown at 7:30 p.m.
