Box Score
La Mirada, Calif.— The Arizona Christian Firestorm were too hot for the Eagles to handle Saturday night inside Chase Gymnasium. Efficient ball movement and timely shooting helped the No. 19-ranked Firestorm defeat the Eagles, 88-73.
 
A scoreless first two minutes of the game did not represent the offensive eruption that would occur later in the half. Once the first basket of the game was made, each team's offenses found their stride, particularly ACU's.
 
The Firestorm shot 66 percent from the field in the first half, knocking down six of their 11 attempts from beyond the arc. Their scoring leader in the first half was Brandon Newman, who made 4-of-5 shots from deep and ended with 18 points in the first half. Newman's hot hand sprung the Firestorm to a 48-34 first half lead.
 
Dakari Archer and Mike Kurtz tried to match the offensive production of ACU, each ending the first half with 13 points, with the rest of the Biola offense combining for just eight points.
 
Biola made a slight surge early in the second half, as the Eagles were able to get the deficit down to single digits with 14 minutes left in the game. However, the second-half performance of Charles King proved to be too much.
 
King finished the game with a team-high 25 points, 16 of which came in the second period. He was hot from beyond the arc, knocking down five three-pointers in the game, four in the second half.  ACU finished the game with four of its players in double digits.
 
Unfortunately for Biola, its offense was not as well dispersed. The only bright spot for the Eagles was Archer, who added 14 more points to end the game with a season-high 27 points.


Archer and Kurtz remained the only two Eagles in double-digits, as Kurtz managed just four second-half points. The third of Biola's scoring leaders, Pierre Zook, was held to zero points until the final five minutes of the game.
 
"We weren't able to follow our game plan," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist.
 
The Eagles were looking to limit fast-break opportunities and free-throw attempts, both of which the Firestorm were able to accomplish, taking 11 more free-throws and outscoring the Eagles 10-4 in fast-break opportunities.
 
As for defensive remedies against the high-powered Firestorm offense, Holmquist said, "they can drive and they can shoot, so it's hard to come up with a good solution."
 
The Eagles fall to 10-3 on the year and 1-2 in GSAC play as the Firestorm improve to 6-2 on the season and 2-0 in GSAC competition.
 
Biola has an entire week to prepare for their next game against the Trinity Western University Spartans. Biola hopes to get back on top as they face the (1-9) Spartans at home on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 1:00 p.m.