LA MIRADA, Calif. --- It has finally arrived. The 2017-18 basketball season we've been eagerly anticipating since it was first announced Biola was pursuing NCAA Division II membership three years ago.

Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist returns for his 38th season at Biola and will lead his team in its first season as members of the PacWest Conference. He enters the season with 947 career coaching victories and will be continuing his push to be just the sixth men's college basketball coach to reach 1,000.

The roster looks a whole lot different than the one that led the team to back-to-back NAIA national tournament appearances the last two years, however a core of four returning players in the new starting lineup makes for a good foundation.

Trevor Treinen, Blake Shannon, Jr., Levi Auble and Alex Talma are the four returning players who've been placed into coach Holmquist's planned starting five. Of those four, only Treinen was a member of the starting rotation last season.

"Levi Auble didn't play a whole lot last year, but he's playing a new position this year and has really improved," said Holmquist. "He is playing the four spot for us and is playing well. I would look for those four returnees to be a really important part of the team this year, because they are all experienced and have been in the program at least two years."

Michael Bagatourian will be the fifth player in the starting lineup. He will fill in at the three-spot and get significant minutes in his first collegiate season. Bagatourian joins the Eagles following a sparkling four-year career at Crean Lutheran High School.

While playing for the Saints Bagatourian was a three-time All-CIF honoree and was named the city most valuable player during his senior season. He's the Saints' all-time leader in points, blocks, steals, rebounds and assists and should make a considerable impact right away. He's going to have some big expectations on his shoulders as he came in and took over the number 0 from Biola legend Dakari Archer.

"Michael is a very skilled player," said Holmquist. "He can handle the ball well and shoot. He also passes very effectively. With his size, our coaching staff feels he has great potential to be a real strong player for us."

Other players of note include Tyus Dennis and Isaiah Jones. Both players were on the roster last season but did not use their eligibility. They've spent time learning Holmquist's system and will be expected to contribute big minutes off the bench.

They were both featured in the Eagles' exhibition against Cal State Bakersfield last week and performed well. Dennis was starting in place of Shannon that day as Shannon was out with injury and was second on the team with 12 points. Jones had eight points and six rebounds in a solid performance.

"Tyus played a lot at the point guard spot and Isaiah comes off the bench at the post position and rebounds real well for us. He has a lot of potential," said Holmquist. "We have several guys who will play and help us off the bench. It's a really nice team to work with in terms of effort, attitude and character and we're just excited to play some games and see how we do."

The games begin for Biola Men's Basketball this evening out in San Marcos. Coach Holmquist's squad opens its schedule with a tip-off tournament hosted by CSU San Marcos. They will face the Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and then battle Chico State at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The home slate is set to open the following Tuesday against Antelope Valley.

The biggest games to circle on the schedule are of course the contests in conference against Azusa Pacific. The Eagles and Cougars do battle in some Cornerstone Cup competition at Azusa on January 6 and here at Biola on February 3.

"The rivalry with Azusa got to be really significant in the mid-1990s. It's been a few years now since we've had that experience and we look forward to being a part of that again," said Holmquist. "Those games are very big in terms of crowd size, excitement and enthusiasm and we're very excited to be a part of that rivalry with a great history."

Holmquist emphasized the team is taking it day by day and week by week this season and he's painted a vision of "improving every week" to his squad. He sees this season as a foundational year that will allow his team to build for the future with having only one senior on the roster.

The team was picked to finish ninth in the PacWest preseason coaches' poll.

Follow the action tonight and Saturday by watching live stats at http://www.sidearmstats.com/csusm/mbball/. Both opening weekend games will also be live streamed at http://csusmcougars.com/watch/.