Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The six previous times Biola Men's Basketball and Arizona Christian met in Golden State Athletic Conference play ACU came away with wins in each matchup.
 
This Saturday early-evening matchup was set to be an uphill battle for the Eagles once more as the Firestorm came into the night as the No. 4 team in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and sported a 10-1 overall record.
 
The closest the Eagles ever came to beating ACU in GSAC play was a four-point game in early-2014, but that margin swung 14 points in the other direction on this night as the unranked Biola Eagles took down ACU convincingly in a 75-65 victory.
 
With the win Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist wins no. 903 in his career and moves into seventh on the all-time list of college basketball's winningest coaches. Tonight he passed the legendary Bobby Knight.
 
"I knew we were going to be ready to play and compete well tonight," said Holmquist. "It was just a good team win. We talked about a lot of things, but the main thing was we just wanted to play hard. Tonight they really played hard."
 
The key to the victory was an absolutely phenomenal start to the first half that saw Biola climb out to a 10-1 lead through the first four minutes.
 
It was energy all around that made the difference early on as Biola seemed ready to play and primed for an upset because of some lackadaisical play out of the Firestorm early on.  Solid defense from the Eagles held ACU to just two missed shots and two turnovers through that four-minute stretch to start the game.
 
A six-point differential was the closest that Arizona Christian could tighten it to in the first half as Biola matched the Firestorm shot-for-shot even once ACU's talented shooters began to heat up.
 
The three-point shot was the weapon of choice for Holmquist's team on the offensive end through the first 20 minutes. After Dakari Archer nailed one on the first possession of the game the Eagles would go on to make four more shots beyond the arc as the team built its 34-23 halftime lead. At one point the team was shooting 80 percent from deep in the half.
 
The early scoring was key as the Eagles have not lost in 2015-16 when its held a lead after the first 20 minutes.
 
Coming out of the halftime break it would've been normal for the Eagles to batten down the hatches and simply focus on defense and clock management as it attempted to hold on to its upset victory.
 
That is not what happened at all as Biola came out ready to play once again and built its lead up to a game-high 18 points with just under four minutes left in regulation.
 
It was the stretch between that large lead and an Andy Sessions layup with 1:27 remaining that Arizona Christian truly looked like the No. 4 team in the country as it rode a 13-2 run to tighten the game back down to seven.
 
The two teams essentially traded points from that point on as Biola outscored ACU 7-5 over the remaining time to seal its 12^th victory of the young season.
 
"I think everybody who played came in and played well. It was one of those good team wins where you really feel great about the effort," said Holmquist.
 
Terrell Funches and Dakari Archer each got above 20 points again this evening as Funches led all scorers with 21 and Archer was second with his 20.
 
It was the grunt work put in by every player that Holmquist entered into the game that got the job done in this one though as the Eagles' defense held this ACU team to 65 points despite it coming into tonight averaging 90 points-per-game.
 
Rebounding was critical as the Eagles did not allow any extra possessions to this ACU team that squandered many of the chances it did get to score with some ill-advised shot selection and attempts very early in the shot clock. The Firestorm took 25 shots from distance and only converted on eight of them.
 
Jeff Gonzalez and Caelan Tiongson played a huge role in the Eagles' 38-27 rebounding advantage as they combined for 11 of the team's boards. Gonzalez was especially adept and bringing in loose balls on the offensive end as he had three of the team's 11 offensive rebounds.
 
"Jeff played real well tonight," said Holmquist. "He was sick, but he played through it and I was real proud of him and how he was able to keep going."
 
In 15 minutes off the bench Christian Misi was able to get active on both ends with a 2-for-2 shooting performance, three rebounds and an assist. His 15 minutes tonight are the third-most the senior's played all season.
 
"Christian came in and gave us great minutes," said Holmquist. "He played real hard on defense, scored a couple baskets and really helped us maintain our momentum."
 
The Eagles move to 12-1 (2-0 GSAC), while Arizona Christian drops to 10-2 (0-1 GSAC). Biola is back in action Dec. 19 in a home game against Carroll College at 5:00 p.m.