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The Official Athletic Site of the Biola University Eagles

Scoreboard

MBB
Adam Washington
69
Biola BU-MBB 6-8, 0-6 PacWest
70
Winner Dixie State DX-MBB 7-6, 4-2 PacWest
Biola BU-MBB
6-8, 0-6 PacWest
69
Final
70
Dixie State DX-MBB
7-6, 4-2 PacWest
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Biola BU-MBB 38 31 69
Dixie State DX-MBB 30 40 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Final Second Bucket Falls Short

Biola nearly upset Dixie State on the road, but falls 70-69.

ST. GEORGE, Utah --- Biola came one centimeter shy of winning its first PacWest Conference competition of the season on Wednesday night in its first trip to play Dixie State in St. George, Utah.

The Eagles led for 32:33 of the 40-minute contest, but a large DSU run in the middle of the second half and a smooth layup on the Trailblazers' final possession helped the home team to the 70-69 win in a thrilling NCAA Division II basketball game.

Biola held a nine-point lead with just over four minutes left in the contest, but the Trailblazers scored 15 of the final 20 points of the game to earn the narrow win.

The final minute of the game was as wild as it gets as the teams traded the lead or were tied five different times. The game was tied at 66 with 60 seconds to play, but Alex Talma made two free throws to give the Eagles the first lead. DSU answered back with a pair free throws of their own to tie it back up with 16 seconds left.

Blake Shannon, Jr. found Michael Bagatourian on a long throw in and the freshman drew a foul as he went straight to the hoop. He made one and missed one and Dixie had the ball back with a chance to win it with 13 seconds to go.

The Trailblazers got the ball to their leading scorer Trevor Hill on the inbound pass and he drove all the way down the floor in four seconds to make a smooth layup and put DSU back on top 70-69.

The Eagles had nine seconds to find two points and get the win and it was the senior sharpshooter Shannon who had his number called. His three-point attempt went just long, but Levi Auble brought in the offensive rebound and still had three seconds to put up a shot from under the basket.

He shot through a lot of heavy contact and the ball ultimately hit the rim three times before finally rolling off the front of the metal and give DSU the win.

The Eagles managed to lead the game for so long because of a really strong first half. BU held Dixie State to just 30 points in that first 20 minutes as they went into the break with an eight-point lead.

BU took a 12-10 lead following a Michael Bagatourian layup and never again trailed in that first half. Shannon led all scorers with 10 first-half points. Two of his three first-half field goals were from deep.

In addition to outshooting the Trailblazers by 10 percent, Biola pulled down 19 rebounds compared to Dixie's 15 in order to build its early lead.

The lead was extended early in the second half as a Shannon three made it 43-30 to set a new game-high lead. Right after that shot the trail went cold for Biola as they went from the 18:52 mark all the way to 11:48 without a point. Dixie State scored 15 in a row during that span to take its first lead in a long while at 45-43.

With just inside of 10 minutes left in the second half it was Biola launching a good run to retake the lead. The Eagles held the Trailblazers without a point for over three points and a run of 9-2 helped Biola take a 60-53 lead.

The rest is history.

Biola played well throughout the game, but turnovers are ultimately what cost the team the most. The Eagles gave the ball up 17 times, which resulted in 16 additional points for the Blazers.

Shannon and Alex Talma led Biola's effort with 15 points a piece and were a combined 9-for-19 from the field.

Biola drops to 6-8 overall (0-6 PacWest) with the loss. Dixie State improves to 7-6 overall (4-2 PacWest) thanks to the come-from-behind victory.

The Eagles will look to shake off the disappointment from this one really quick as they've got the biggest matchup of the season coming up on Saturday.

Biola is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against Azusa Pacific (10-5, 6-1 PWC) in Azusa. Please plan to wear red and get more information on the game, arena, tickets, etc. at http://athletics.biola.edu/news/2018/1/2/general-best-small-college-rivalry-resumes-saturday.aspx.

 
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