Box Score PHOENIX, Ariz. --- Senior leadership and depth. Those were the assets No. 7 Biola placed its confidence in at the beginning of the season and those were the reasons it earned a 70-60 victory at Arizona Christian on Tuesday. The win elevates the 14-2 Eagles to a 4-2 Golden State Athletic Conference record and places them in a tie for second place behind Westmont.

In typical fashion for a GSAC men's basketball game this season, both teams played great defense in the early going and baskets were at a premium. Dakari Archer's three-pointer at the 5:32 mark pushed the score to 8-7 in the Eagles' favor and was just the fifth made field goal of the game.

Caelan Tiongson moved to change that plodding pace really quick and took over Biola's scoring for the rest of the half. The senior forward showed off a reliable mid-range jumper and scored Biola's next 15 points of the first half after Archer's triple. Tiongson went 3-for-5 on jumpers outside the paint and collected 21 points in the first half.

Archer added eight of his own to Biola's 31-point total and 15-point lead at the break.

During the second half the Firestorm did much better at controlling the ball and only turned the ball over twice. That consistency allowed the home team to settle into the offense and set up shop in the key; Arizona Christian scored 18 points in the paint in the second half and paid massive attention to preventing Tiongson from making a single field goal attempt.

The home team would also finish with three double-digit scorers in Matt Willkomm (15), Shy McClelland (13) and Chris Sterling (12).

However, halftime adjustments did not deter the Eagles because Alex Talma and Blake Shannon, Jr. put on their metaphorical capes as Biola's super replacements down the stretch. The pair combined for 20 points in the second half alone and nearly matched the total posted by Arizona Christian entire bench (22) over the forty minutes.

After subbing into the game at the 3:09 mark, Talma was quick to make an impression with his presence. The New Zealand native made all four of his shot attempts and shot an outstanding 6-of-7 from the charity stripe for 14 points in 14 minutes.

The ever calm and collected Shannon contributed six second half points and finished the game with seven rebounds in 31 minutes. And he was the second capable ball-handler the Eagles needed for most of the second half as ACU tried to force turnovers to get back in the game.

With his 20 points tonight Dakari Archer passed the 1,700 point threshold for his career. He is just the fourth Biola Men's Basketball player to ever reach this mark. With at least 17 points in his next outing or two he will move into third on the Eagles' all-time scoring list.

Biola returns to Chase Gym as one of only two GSAC teams with an active three game winning streak (The Master's). The Eagles will try to extend the streak to four against Menlo College at 4:00 p.m.