Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Playoff tensions are rising as the Golden State Athletic Conference regular season draws near to a close, and it was definitely a playoff atmosphere inside Chase Gymansium on Tuesday night as the No. 16 Firestorm came to town.
 
The newly minted No. 25 Biola Eagles hosted Arizona Christian for the first time this season, still in search of the program's first all-time victory over the Firestorm. A solid second-half shooting performance and pesky defensive approach from ACU halted any thoughts of getting that win, as Biola dropped its second of the season to ACU, 64-60.
 
Biola was able to throw up 62 shots from the floor on the night, 10 more than ACU, thanks to its advantage in the rebounding column. However, the greater quantity of shtos did not make much difference as the Eagles shot just 30 percent from the field in the contest.
 
"We just could not make baskets today," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist. "Our defense was good enough to win the game, and we outrebounded them by a couple, but we just had a real poor shooting percentage. We have to shoot better if we want to win games."
 
A glaring example of the Eagles' shooting woes came from two of their most consistent and productive players, Andre Murillo and Pierre Zook. The tandem combined to shoot just 5-24 from the floor in Biola's losing effort.
 
Murillo did manage to maintain a solid night by putting up 11 boards, nine points and six assists on his senior night. It was also Cody Wittick's final regular-season home game, and the guard was able to put up a productive two points in his six minutes on the floor.
 
Biola did not seem to gain any traction as the night wore on, with its biggest lead coming just seven minutes into the ballgame, and just by five points. They still managed to hang close enough to Arizona Christian to keep the game competitive. This is due to the fact that the Firestorm had nearly as poor a shooting performance, and allowed Biola seven steals.
 
ACU's shooting improved just enough in the second half to help it extend its lead to eight with just over a minute left on the game clock.
 
The visiting team needed ever bit of those points as Dakari Archer, Biola's leading scorer, was able to nail a deep three-pointer with just a few ticks left to bring the Eagles back within two points.
 
Murillo also had a late look from three, but by the time he got the ball it was too late to do any damage as the Firestorm already had a four-point advantage.
 
Archer finished the night with 15 points. His output was the most on the Eagles and the third most on the floor. Brandon Newman and Mason Jones combined for 34 points for ACU.
 
Biola did a solid job neutralizing the Firestorm's biggest offensive threat, Talib Uqdah. The home team held Uqdah to just eight points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood.
 
"We were able to slow down Talib (Uqdah) a little bit," said Holmquist. "But then Mason (Jones) got free and made some shots."
 
The loss drops the Eagles under .500 in conference play, as they have lost four of their last five games to sit a 6-7 in GSAC play. They are now tied with Concordia and The Master's for the fourth place spot in the conference. The fourth place team is the final seed to host the opening round of the GSAC tournament next month.
 
The Eagles will have one more shot to pick up some ground in the standings as they face Westmont in a road battle this Saturday.
 
"Our guys have played hard all year long," said Holmquist. "We have won some close games and lost some close games. It has been a great group to work with, and we have one left. We just need to give a good effort on Saturday night and see what happens."