Box Score
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- For 20 minutes of basketball during its season opener on Thursday evening No. 4 Biola Men's Basketball looked like giants on the hardwood as they were in midseason form. Then, for 20 minutes the team looked every bit like it was playing its first game of the season as it struggled to put plays together in the second half.
 
Despite the less than desirable second-half performance the Eagles still managed to earn a blowout victory over visiting La Sierra, 85-53.
 
Fifty-seven of those 85 points came in the first half as Biola ran laps around the Golden Eagles to stake a 57-22 lead at the halftime break. It was beautiful basketball to watch as the Eagles passed the ball with precision, took advantage of turnovers and counterattack opportunities and obliterated the opponents on the boards (27-13).
 
Alex Talma was definitely the revelation in that first 20 minutes as the newest New Zealander to play for Dr. Dave Holmquist exploded out of the gates in his first half as an Eagle. Talma was 5-of-8 from the floor, 4-of-5 from the line and corralled five rebounds as he led the team with 14 first-half points.
 
Not far behind him was his fellow big man, Jeff Gonzalez. Gonzalez, a fan favorite, piled in 13 points and was even better at scoring efficiently as he converted six of his eight tries successfully. The level of physicality that Biola showed off in the first half (especially from Talma and Gonzalez) was awe-inspiring and is definitely a step up from last season.
 
Other notable numbers from the first half were 10 points from Trevor Treinen, who was settling into his new role replacing Terrell Funches and a quiet eight points each from Dakari Archer and Blake Shannon, Jr. Shannon did just what he always does as he came in off the bench for 12 minutes and quickly found his way to two three-point makes in as many tries.
 
So, with a 60 percent shooting percentage, 78 percent free-throw shooting and a 35-point lead the Eagles felt pretty darn good heading into the locker room.
 
Unfortunately, the beautiful, fluid, mistake-free basketball did not translate in the second half as the Eagles' second team struggled to fall into its rhythm. Biola shot just 30 percent over the final 20 minutes and committed nine turnovers as it was outscored 31-28 down the stretch. The second-half struggles should give the coaching staff good fodder for practice in the next few days, but they will still no doubt be satisfied with a 30-plus point victory and a 1-0 start.
 
The lone highlight of the second half was Caelan Tiongson. After an uncharacteristic first half that left him in the minority as his teammates were soaring high, Tiongson turned it on in a big way for the final 20 minutes.
He was 5-for-8 shooting, 3-for-6 from the line, had a backboard-rattling dunk and led the Eagles' effort with 13 second-half points. Tiongson was almost not coming back to the team this year, but he made a late decision to play another year of eligibility as a graduate student.
 
The game's leading scorer was La Sierra's Isaac Deese who ended with 24 points on 25 shots. Biola had five players in double-digits led by 17 from Tiongson.
 
Biola is back at home next week as it hosts La Verne at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening.