Skip To Main Content

Biola University Athletics

Scoreboard

The Official Athletic Site of the Biola University Eagles

Scoreboard

Talma
Adam Washington
68
Winner Biola University BU-MBB 7-12, 1-10 PacWe
67
Holy Names University HNU 9-14, 5-7 PacWes
Winner
Biola University BU-MBB
7-12, 1-10 PacWe
68
Final
67
Holy Names University HNU
9-14, 5-7 PacWes
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Biola University BU-MBB 23 45 68
Holy Names University HNU 33 34 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Sweet Victory

Eagles steal Hawks’ thunder with second-half surge.

OAKLAND, Calif. --- At long last Biola Men's Basketball can play without a giant monkey on its back. The Eagles showed incredible tenacity on Thursday night, battling back from a 15-point second-half deficit to defeat Holy Names 68-67 and earn its elusive first PacWest Conference victory.

An Alex Talma free throw with 2.2 seconds left in regulation is what earned the Eagles the victory, just seconds after a missed free throw from HNU and Blake Shannon, Jr. rebound gave BU the opportunity to try and win the game on the final possession.

BU couldn't make it happen with a shot from the floor, but as bodies bashed together going for a rebound Talma drew a foul and stepped to the line with the chance to put Biola on top. He made one and missed one, but the HNU squad came nowhere close with a three-quarter court shot as time expired and the Eagles finally got the sweet taste of victory over an NCAA Division II program.

It was fitting that it was a free throw that earned Biola its victory, because that was the one area of the game that was most consistent for Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist's team tonight. Biola's 16-of-20 (80%) performance at the line played a big role in their ability to stay in it late. It ties their season-best free-throw shooting percentage and was just two shy of their conference season-best total of free throws made.

Things were looking grim for most of the night as the Eagles came out cold as ice from the floor. They were limited to just seven field goals in the first half and were shooting under 20 percent 18 minutes into the game.

That led to a 10-point deficit at the halftime break, which was later extended to as much as 18 points early in the second-half. However, as the game dwindled down to its final 10 minutes Shannon and his teammates began to heat up.

The senior point guard really stood out, because he was able to drain three of his five three-point attempts down the stretch, which is a stark contrast to the 1-for-11 three-point shooting effort he and the team had in the first half. Shannon scorer 13 second-half points and was the one responsible for winning the ball back to the Eagles as the game moved into its last possession.

Two other Eagles (Trevor Treinen and Isaiah Jones) also managed to go up over 10 points in the second half with 12 and 10, respectively. Biola poured in 45 second-half points, which is nearly double the 23 they managed through the first 20 minutes.

After seeing the deficit balloon to nearly 20 points Biola's offense kicked it into high gear with just over 13 minutes left in the game. The Eagles scored 11 points in a row between 13:33 and 10:36 to watch a 16-point Hawk lead slip down to just five.

From then on it was a run-and-gun style shootout with both teams feeling it from beyond the arc. Both teams were making shots, but Holy Names maintained a comfortable five-to-nine point lead for much of the next eight minutes until the momentum begin to shift just at the right time.

Shannon, Christian Carroll and Treinen hit back-to-back-to-back three-pointers in a span of a minute in order to turn a 67-58 HNU lead into a tied ballgame at 67-67 with just over a minute to go.

After that some missed opportunities on both sides led up to Talma's game-winning trip to the free throw line which got the Eagles' road trip off to the best kind of start.

Biola's rebounding also played a critical role in the game as they held a 35-30 advantage over the Hawks, but more importantly managed eight second-chance points thanks to 10 offensive rebounds.

Shannon and Treinen both ended the game with 20 points to tie for the highest scoring output of any player. Jones had 14 points and came one rebound shy of what would've been his third double-double of the month. He played a season-high 35 minutes in his second-straight start and was once again selective with his shots to go an impressive 6-of-8 from the field.

Biola's victory improves their overall record to 7-12, but more importantly changes the zero to a one in their 1-10 PacWest Conference record. The team will look to ride this to more success as they play at Notre Dame de Namur (4-12, 3-8 PacWest) Saturday and Academy of Art (7-11, 6-6 PacWest) Monday before heading home to face Azusa Pacific next Saturday.
Print Friendly Version
Skip Ad

Sponsors