Box Score ATHERTON, Calif. --- Biola Men's Basketball had an early-evening contest up at Menlo College on Saturday, and it was anything but easy. The Oaks gave the Eagles a tough test, keeping the game close throughout, but ultimately the Biola defense reigned supreme and lifted the team to a 63-55 victory.
 
The victory helped Biola complete its important road trip in Northern California with two victories and allowed the team to keep its spot jostling for position at the top of the Golden State Athletic Conference standings.
 
Menlo College, playing in front of a solid home crowd and seeking to avenge a loss from earlier in the year against the Eagles, came out of the gates very strong. They shot 63 percent from the field in the first half and even threatened to pull away with a commanding lead late in the half.
 
The Oaks led 33-27 with just over two minutes left in the first half. They got themselves into that position by scoring nine unanswered points in the previous four minutes of play to flip the script on what was a 27-24 Biola lead.
 
The Eagles rebounded though and scored five in a row to end the first half, three from Dakari Archer and two off Steve Herve free throws, to send the game into the break at 33 all.
 
Biola opened the second half with an 11-5 run that opened up a 44-38 lead that it never looked back from. A huge reason for the Eagles' ability to open up that lead — 18 of those 44 points came from Jeff Gonzalez. The big man had an incredible start to the contest, scoring on seven of his first eight shots.
 
He would end with 20 points, three assists and a pair of rebounds as he made the most of having his buddy Caelan Tiongson back in the lineup. Tiongson played 25 minutes in his return. He dropped in seven points and tied for the team-high with seven rebounds.
 
Gonzalez had 18 of his team-high 20 points with 14 minutes still left on the clock. He did not have to do as much for the Eagles' offense as the game came down the stretch because Trevor Treinen and the guards began to heat up.
 
Treinen had 10 of Biola's 30 second-half points and did not miss a single free throw down the stretch. He ended with 15 total points, four by way of free throw and nine from distance, and he was the one to tie with Tiongson with his seven rebounds. Treinen also posted three steals in another very impressive 36 minutes on the court.
 
The biggest difference in this contest was the defensive adjustments that Biola made in the second half in order to slow down the red hot Menlo shooters. The Oaks shot just 36 percent in the second half and were held to just 22 points. Conversely, Biola remained right around where it was in the first half, making 52 percent of its shots in the first 20 minutes and 55 percent of them in the second.
 
The Eagles held a lead of as large as 10 points throughout the final minutes of play as it was able to close out on Menlo with ease and force uncomfortable offensive possessions.
 
Biola's senior point guard, Dakari Archer, would end with just seven points, but he was facilitating well all night long, tying for the team-lead with four assists. His first point of the night moved him into sole possession of second place on the Biola Men's Baksketball all-time scoring list. He passed Biola Hall of Famer, Ronn Johnson, and he ended the night now at 1,810 career points.
 
Tonight's win was the sixth time this season that this Eagles' team held its opponent to 55 points or fewer. Biola is currently third in the nation in overall defense, holding its opponents to 61 points-per-game.
 
Biola improved to 24-3 (10-3 GSAC) with the win. They swept the season series with Menlo, who falls to 10-14 (3-9 GSAC). The Eagles come back down to La Mirada now and have a home date set with Vanguard (6-19, 4-7 GSAC) on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14) at 7:30 p.m.