LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola Men and Women's Basketball each received berths into the 2016 Golden State Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament, which begins March 4 and runs through Championship Tuesday on March 8.
 
Each round of this year's tournament is held at Hope International's Darling Pavilion as the Royals' facility was chosen as the predetermined host site by the conference's athletic director's earlier this season. Biola and Hope International earned first-round byes as the top two seeds on the men's side. Westmont and The Master's earned first-round byes as the top two teams in the women's bracket.

SCHEDULE
Friday, March 4 - First Round
12:00 p.m. - Game 1: Women - #3 seed Vanguard vs. #6 seed William Jessup
2:30 p.m. - Game 2: Men - #3 seed William Jessup vs. #6 seed Vanguard
5:00 p.m. - Game 3: Women - #4 seed Hope International vs. #5 seed Biola
7:30 p.m. - Game 4: Men - #4 seed Arizona Christian vs. #5 seed Westmont

Saturday, March 5 - Semifinals
12:00 p.m. - Game 5: Women - #2 seed The Master's College vs. #3 seed Vanguard/#6 seed William Jessup
2:30 p.m. - Game 6: Men - #2 seed Hope International vs. #3 seed William Jessup/#6 seed Vanguard
5:00 p.m. - Game 7: Women - #1 seed Westmont vs. # 4 seed Hope International/#5 seed Biola
7:30 p.m. - Game 8: Men - #1 seed Biola vs. #4 seed Arizona Christian/#5 seed Westmont

Tuesday, March 8 - Championships (televised by Fox Sports Prime Ticket)
5:00 p.m. - Women's Championship
8:00 p.m. - Men's Championship
 **Tournament Champions receive the conference's automatic bid to their respective NAIA National Championship Tournament.

TICKET INFO
There are no complimentary tickets at any game throughout the GSAC tournament. Championship ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students/seniors and $15 for a reserved seat. Tickets can be purchased on-site at Darling Pavilion. Check this website frequently for updated information about possible free Biola student tickets sponsored by the athletic department/SGA/SPA.
 
MEDIA
First round and semifinal matchups will be broadcast live with live video, play-by-play and statistics at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/hiu/. If due to technical difficulties on site there are no live stats or video offered, Biola will continue to have in-game updates through its Twitter handle (@BiolaAthletics). The men and women's championship games (March 8) will be telecast live at Fox Sports Prime Ticket (check your local listings).
 
MEN'S NOTES
Biola Men's Basketball enters this year's Golden State Athletic Conference tournament as the No. 1 see in the bracket after defeating the then-No. 5 Royals this past Saturday to wrap up the team's first regular season conference championship since 2001-02. The Eagles have a first-round bye and will begin tournament play on Saturday, March 5 with a 7:30 p.m. matchup against the winner of the first round game between Arizona Christian and Westmont.
 
The Eagles were 2-0 against ACU and also 2-0 against Westmont during the regular season meetings. Terrell Funches (21, 18) led Biola in scoring during both of its wins over Arizona Christian. Funches also led the Eagles' first win over Westmont with 20 points, while Jeff Gonzalez (17) led the offensive effort in the second win over the Warriors. Biola had an average margin of victory of 20 points in two wins over Westmont and six points in its two wins over ACU.
 
Biola is a defense-first team that leads the nation in scoring defense by allowing its opponents just 59.8 points-per-game on average. The team is led by the reigning GSAC Player of the Year, Dakari Archer and fellow All-GSAC member, Funches. The Eagles lead the field of tournament participants in scoring defense, opponent field goal % and free throw %. Biola is second in the six-team field in blocks and scoring margin.
 
In the two meetings Arizona Christian had with Westmont in 2015-16 the two teams split. Westmont has a 0.5-point advantage in scoring differential.

The men's tournament field is stacked as four of the six teams are currently ranked inside of the top-25 and one other is receiving votes after being ranked inside the top-25 all season long.

Ranked Teams:
No. 3 Biola (27-3)
No. 7 Hope International (25-5)
No. 15 Arizona Christian (22-7)
No. 24 William Jessup (18-9)
RV Westmont (20-9)
 
MEN'S BRACKET
 
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
 
WOMEN'S NOTES
Biola comes into the conference tournament needing to win the whole thing if it wants to qualify for this year's NAIA National Championship tournament in Independance, Mo. Head Coach Alan Nakamura's team is the No. 5 seed in the tournament after losing its No. 4 standing to Hope International with a 10-point loss in the final regular season game this past Saturday.
 
Biola faces the very same Hope International team in the opening round of the conference tournament. The Eagles and Royals will battle head-to-head for a chance to play the No. 1 seed, Westmont. Biola's first round game is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. tip-off inside of Chase Gymnasium on Friday, March 4.
 
The matchup with the Royals will be the third time this season that Nakamura's side has gone toe-to-toe with Bill Crammer's HIU squad. Biola won the first meeting between the two back in late-January when Biola's defense held the Royals to just two points in the third quarter and ended up with a slim two-point win. The scoring was not fantastic on either side in that 48-46 ballgame, as the Eagles also had a single-digit quarter when they scored just six in the fourth and nearly let the lead slip away. DeMoria White (17) and Marissa Rendon (11) were the two teams' leading scorer in that game.

The most recent matchup was HIU's 61-51 win to spoil Biola's senior night at Chase Gymnasium on Feb. 27. That game saw much more consistent scoring, but it was a 20-9 first quarter lead established by Hope International that led to the double-digit victory. Hope International shot 13 percent better from the floor and had nine steals to help them get the win and steal the No. 4 seed. Taylor Casey (21) was Biola's leading scorer, while Alexis Perry (18) had the most points for Hope International.
 
Taking a look at each team's strengths and weaknesses one would see that Hope International comes into this matchup leading the Eagles in scoring offense, scoring defense, scoring margin, opponent field goal %, rebounding, steals and turnover margin, while Biola leads the Royals in field goal %, 3-PT field goal %, free throw %, assists and blocks.

The women's tournament field is stacked at the top as the top-3 teams in the bracket are all inside of the top-10 in the national coaches' poll.

Ranked Teams:
No. 2 Westmont (26-3)
No. 5 The Master's College (24-4)
No. 6 Vanguard (22-5)
 
WOMEN'S BRACKET
 
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL