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Scoreboard

Michael bagatourian dribbles into a guy
Adam Washington
73
Winner Azusa Pacific APU-MBB 6-6, 3-2 PacWest
59
Biola BU-MBB 6-5, 2-3 PacWest
Winner
Azusa Pacific APU-MBB
6-6, 3-2 PacWest
73
Final
59
Biola BU-MBB
6-5, 2-3 PacWest
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Azusa Pacific APU-MBB 37 36 73
Biola BU-MBB 23 36 59

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Not How We Drew It Up

Biola gets stuffed inside and struggles to get much offense going in loss to APU.

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- There was no sparkling sequel to be had in tonight's rematch of the Biola Azusa Pacific rivalry. The Cougars rode some fantastic first-half shooting and terrific interior defense to a 73-59 win in front of a nearly sold-out crowd inside of Chase Gymnasium.

APU held Biola to 23 first-half points and a shooting percentage of 34 percent to enter halftime with a 37-23 lead and significant emotional advantage. Will Ferris was the big story of that first half, as he kept finding himself open on the perimeter and was sinking threes no problem. Ferris made four first-half threes to account for 14 points.

No Biolan managed more than six points in the first half. But that player with six points was very significant, as it was Will Shannon. Shannon's not been pushed on to score much so far this season, mainly coming in for defense and to distribute the ball. However, he rose to the occasion with double-digit first-half minutes and went 2-of-2 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free-throw line to lead all Biola's scorers.

The problem for most of the night was that Biola could do absolutely nothing inside. Every time a player drove to the basket, three APU men would immediately swallow them up, led by the night's most imposing player, Selom Mawugbe.

Mawugbe had two blocks, two of five total for Azusa Pacific, and also had eight rebounds to go with 18 points. His solid defense, great free throw shooting (10-of-10) and overbearing size were all attributes Biola can typically be known for, but it was not on this night.

The Eagles' starting forwards combined for just six points. Levi Auble had five points off the bench and that was all the scoring to be had from BU post players. The free-throw line was also not the best spot for Biola once again. The Eagles shot just 18-of-26 (.692). It's the fifth consecutive game of making in the 60s or lower in FT percentage.

Despite all that hardship, the team found a way to compete for the full 20 minutes in the second half. APU came out and held Biola without a point for over six minutes at the start of that second period of play, ultimately stretching to a game-high 26-point lead with just over 10 minutes to play. But, the Eagles outscored APU 29-17 over the final 10 minutes, led by a torrid scoring run by Michael Bagatourian to show some pride and go down fighting.

Bagatourian ended the game with 24 points and six rebounds. He scored 19 of those points in the final 9:34 in the game. He was the only Eagle to make a three-pointer on this night, going 3-of-4 from distance. That 19-point outburst allowed him to end as the game's leading scorer for either team.

The win pushes Azusa Pacific to 6-6 (3-2 PacWest) and gives Biola a third-straight loss to drop the Eagles to 6-5 (2-3 PacWest). Azusa Pacific got 10 Cornerstone Cup points out of the night, winning the women's game as well. They lead the second-annual competition, 40-20.

 
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