Skip To Main Content

Biola University Athletics

Scoreboard

The Official Athletic Site of the Biola University Eagles

Scoreboard

Carroll
66
Dominican DUC-MBB 5-18, 4-12 PWC
70
Winner Biola BU-MBB 11-14, 5-12 PWC
Dominican DUC-MBB
5-18, 4-12 PWC
66
Final
70
Biola BU-MBB
11-14, 5-12 PWC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Dominican DUC-MBB 30 36 66
Biola BU-MBB 26 44 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Happy FT

Biola beats Penguins with late free throws.

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- It took a little longer than expected, but on the merit of a Zach Roetcisoender breakaway layup, some clutch Michael Bagatourian made free throws and critical Alex Talma rebounds Biola Men's Basketball came from behind to defeat Dominican, 70-66.

"I thought it was a really good win for us," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist. "We've been really short handed and the starters had to play so many minutes two days ago, but I felt like the team rebounded in a great way."

The Eagles trailed from the 6:07 mark in the first half all the way until there was 4:40 left on the game clock. Biola cut the lead to just one several times but could not find a way to get over the hump until Roetcisoender caught a Trevor Treinen cross court pass and laid it up under the hoop to give BU a 59-58 lead at a crucial part of the game.

Biola maintained the lead over the next few minutes until Dominican's leading scorer Jeremiah Gray cut through the lane and laid one up to put the Penguins ahead 66-65 with :56 left.

The next possession is where Bagatourian made his impact felt. He was playing the no. 4 position on this night with Isaiah Jones out with injury. He got big with the ball and was fouled as a Dominican player attempted a block. The freshman made both free throws, which would end up as the game-winning points after a few key defensive stops at the other end over the waning seconds.

"Those were obviously huge free throws in a pressure situation, and he came through for us in a big way," said Holmquist.

Alex Talma was the hero on the other end as he elevated and pulled down both defensive rebounds to end the Penguins' possessions after just one shot. He was fouled the first time and made a pair of free throws. The second time he managed to outlet the ball to Treinen who was fouled with just one second on the clock and made one more free throw to get BU up to 70 points.

"I like the way we hung in there and were tenacious in how we played," said Holmquist. "Zack and Christian Carroll did a nice job of denying the ball from number 32 (Gray) late in the game. They did a really good job."

Gray was a tough man to handle as he came into the night averaging nearly 20 points and was the second-highest scorer in the PacWest. He hung 24 points on the board, but none when it mattered the most, and that's thanks in large part to the quick hands and feet of Carroll and Roetcisoender on defense.

It was a tight game throughout, with neither team ever holding more than an eight-point advantage. Biola's largest lead of the night was the four-point number the settled in with.

Treinen ended the game as the Eagles' leading scorer with 23 points on a 50+ percent shooting night. Talma notched another double-double (his third in the last four games) with 19 and 10 rebounds. Bagatourian also got into double-digits with 12 points. He was also the only Eagle to be perfect at the foul line.

Biola had to do most of its heavy lifting in the second half again after shooting just 33 percent in the first half. They stepped up by making 14 of 21 field goals (66%) over the final 20 minutes, including the most important category, going 4-of-5 from deep. The team was just 2-of-10 from behind the arc in half one.

The Eagles held a slight advantage in field goal percentage and rebounds when the game was done and also played extremely disciplined, getting called for five fewer fouls than the visiting team.

The final five minutes of the game is what really made this victory though, as Holmquist's team managed to get critical defensive stops and limit the missed opportunities on offense just enough to squeak away with a win over a well coached Dominican team.

The Eagles have now won five of their last seven games and are picking up steam heading into the final three games of the conference season. The Eagles improve to 11-14 (5-12 PacWest), while the Penguins drop to 5-18 (4-12 PacWest).

"I like the spirit of our team," said Holmquist. "They've gotten better as the year went along and did a really great job of not getting discouraged of the early losses. These wins recently are a good indication of the spirit, character and toughness of our guys.

BU has tough sledding ahead of it as each of those final three opponents are currently in position to make the PacWest tournament (top-6). The journey begins with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against former Golden State Athletic Conference rivals Point Loma (19-7, 13-4 PWC) on Thursday night inside of Chase Gym.
Print Friendly Version
Skip Ad

Sponsors