Box Score
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- When the 2015-16 Golden State Athletic Conference schedule was released over a year ago tonight's game between No. 20 Biola and No. 12 Westmont was circled as a must-win matchup if this BU team wanted to compete on the national scale this year.
 
A monster second half led by torrid three-point shooting carried this loveable Biola team to a 72-51 upset win over a Westmont side it had beaten just once in the last 10 matchups.
 
"It was a great night for us," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist. "We played with purpose, we rebounded well, we defended well, and in the second half we shot well."
 
The energy was up throughout the night as the players, coaches, officials and fans all knew what this one meant. The first half was back-and-forth throughout, but a telltale sign that things may go in favor of the Eagles was that it was a low-scoring, defensive battle. Westmont went into the break with a 29-25 lead and walked off the court on an all-out high after making a tense buzzer-beater layup.
 
The smiles on the faces of the visiting team would quickly vanish as Biola scored the first seven points of the second half to turn the game on its head and open up a three-point lead.
 
A Dakari Archer triple and two gritty layups by Steve Herve got the half started, but then Funches started lighting it up from distance and Jeff Gonzalez controlled the boards as the Eagles really got it rolling.
 
Including Archer's three that opened the scoring for the second half, Biola would go 11-for-13 from the floor over the first eight-plus minutes to explode for a 53-33 advantage. Included in that stretch was a streak of nine consecutive makes from the field. 
 
Biola shot 63 percent from the floor over the entirety of the second period. The Eagles also went 8-of-9 on free throw chances to add to the all-around solid frame.
 
Funches was 5-for-7 from the field in the second as he put 12 of the Eagles' 47 second-half points on the board. The 47 points over the final 20 minutes is tied for Biola's second most explosive half of the season. The senior guard ended with a game-high 20 points and was one rebound away from notching a double-double.
 
The Eagles' defense locked down a Westmont side that came into the night averaging 88 points-per-game. The biggest difference was holding the Warriors' leading scorer, Cory Blau, to just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.
 
A huge contribution to the second-half surge was the Eagles' ability to pull down 80 percent of the available rebounds over the final 20 minutes. Biola outrebounded Westmont 23-6 in the half. The teams split the first-half rebounds with 21 a piece. Biola's 44 total rebounds is also the second most in a single-game this season.
 
The Eagles got four players in double-digits as Gonzalez (13), Archer (12) and Herve (10) all had great outings.
 
Not only is this win important for the conference and national landscape, but also it was about as fun of a midseason men's basketball game you could possibly hope for with a handful of dunks, 56 points in the paint and a few big blocks on each side.
 
Biola improves to 16-1 overall and maintains its first-place standing with a 3-0 GSAC record. Westmont falls to 12-4 and 1-2 in GSAC play. The Eagles are back in action on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in a road game against The Master's College.