HIGHLIGHTS

FULLERTON, Calif. --- It existed before Biola vs. APU. It existed before Biola vs. Concordia. It existed well before Biola vs. Vanguard, and on a rainy Saturday night in Fullerton it existed for one more glorious occasion.
 
We're talking, of course, about the Biola vs. Westmont men's basketball rivalry. Tonight, the No.1 seeded Eagles and No. 5 seeded Warriors took 45 minutes to come to a conclusion during a matchup in the semifinals of the 2016 Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament
 
When the five-minute overtime period came to a close it was No. 3 Biola that held a nine-point advantage, 75-66, and punched its ticket to Tuesday evening's GSAC Tournament Championship.
 
"It was a great night for us to win such a close game in overtime over such a good team. They are so smart and tough, and we are really glad we pulled this one out and got to the final," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist.
 
Let's get right to it. Biola got off to an 8-0 start and led for just about all of regulation. However, the Warriors made a seven-point run between the nine minute and seven minute mark of the second half to tighten the game to just one point.
 
After that a Blake Shannon, Jr. three-point make extended the lead to four, which brought the Eagles just enough breathing room to maintain the lead until Westmont took its first lead of the ballgame with 2:54 left in regulation.
 
Two quick layups immediately followed and then it was again a one-point advantage for the Warriors with 2:29 left to play.
 
Neither team could buy a bucket between 2:29 and 00:06 as the entire crowd held its collective breath and watch the seconds melt off the clock.  It was Shannon, Jr. again hitting the big shot that put the Eagles up by one with :06.6 left in regulation.
 
After a timeout Westmont did the smart thing and tried to run the ball inside and draw contact on the final possession of the game. Contact was indeed drawn and a foul called as the clock trickled down to less than a half of a second.
 
So, Cory Blau, an all-conference talent and easily Westmont's best player took the his place at the free throw line with two shots to tie and win the game for his Warriors.
 
He made the first shot, and just for a moment a hush went over the crowd as the game was now tied at 55. Then, as the junior guard looked up to focus in on his second shot, the packed, and actively involved, Biola student section made the gym reverberate with so much noise as they attempted to distract him.
 
The distraction worked as the shot clanked off the rim and sent the game into overtime.
 
"Cory Blau is such a great player in this conference," said Holmquist. "He's hit so many big shots over the last couple of years. It doesn't matter who you are, you're going to miss one once in awhile. "
 
So, after 40 minutes of hard-fought GSAC basketball the game reset and it was time for one team to go out and win it in order to get to the tournament championship and a date with No. 2 see Hope International.
 
Biola answered that call in overtime as big shots from Shannon, Jr., Caelan Tiongson and Terrell Funches built a quick five-point lead and Dakari Archer made free throws sealed it down the stretch.
 
Archer led the team with 23 points. He scored 17 in the first half alone as he carried the Eagles early on before getting into foul trouble and having to play with four fouls for the final 13 minutes of the game.
 
Tiongson and Funches both hit double-digits with 11 and 12, respectively, and Jeff Gonzalez did his part, like always, with six points and 11 boards. Shannon, Jr. ended with eight points and every last one of them made a huge impact on the Eagles' continued play in this tournament.
 
"Blake made some great shots for us down the stretch, but it was another good team win for us," said Holmquist.
 
It was good basketball on both sides of the floor as the two teams shot over 46 percent from the floor while showing off their depth with a combined 30 points off the bench.
 
Biola improves to 28-3 on the season while the Warriors drop to 21-10. The Eagles will play No. 7 Hope International (26-5) in the GSAC Tournament Championship at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday March 8.
 
The game will be held at Darling Pavilion on the campus of Hope International and will be televised live on Fox Sports Prime Ticket. It's Biola's first time playing for the tournament championship since it won it all with a win over Concordia (at Concordia) in 2011-12.