LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The big day is finally here. Tomorrow's matchup is five years in the making. Biola and Azusa Pacific basketball are finally reunited inside of Chase Gym in the latest installment of the Cornerstone Cup presented by West Coast Sand & Gravel.

This rivalry between the Eagles and Cougars dates back to the 1960s and has especially strong ties to the two teams' Golden State Athletic Conference tenure between 1994 and 2012.

Renewing this rivalry was one of the driving forces behind Biola's institutional decision to leave the NAIA and become members of the NCAA Division II and PacWest Conference. This game in particular is the culmination of years of effort across campus to position Biola for its first season as a PacWest member this year.

The Eagles and Cougars are primed and ready for their second PacWest matchup of the season, this time cloaked in a sea of red.

If you have not gotten your tickets for the event yet please visit this link. We do still have limited number of free student admissions available. Visit the ticketing table when you get to the gym Saturday to get your free admission.

Those students who picked up admission wristbands should bring those with them to be admitted into the gym for the games.

All tickets are good for the 5:30 p.m. women's game and 7:30 p.m. men's game. Free In-n-Out burgers will be served beginning at 4:30 p.m. The truck cooking the burgers will be in Lot O, directly next to Chase Gym. The first 900 people on site that day can get a free burger.

In addition to the free In-n-Out burgers we also have over 1,000 free T-shirts, 400 free foam Talons, free popcorn and more. All Biola fans are encouraged to wear red.
 

Getting my head in the game for our first home basketball matchup against @APUCougars since joining @theNCAA. Students, pick up your free ticket wristband outside the caf this week & come out to see @BiolaAthletics #RivalriesRenewed! pic.twitter.com/AJ0NvBolWo

— Barry Corey (@PresidentCorey) January 31, 2018

Those who cannot make it out for the event are encouraged to watch for free online at this link OR at the simulcast via Facebook Live on the Biola University Facebook page.

See below for more information on each matchup.

WOMEN'S PREVIEW
There's hardly a regular season game that is better than a meeting between two rivals that are on top of their game and motivated to improve their place in the conference standings.

Saturday night will be that type of occasion on the women's side of Biola vs. Azusa Pacific. Both teams have gone 6-1 since the Eagles and Cougars last met on Jan. 6 and both teams seem to need a win in this game to help accomplish their goals for PacWest play.

APU currently stands in second place in the PacWest with one more loss than the Hawai'i Pacific Sharks. The Cougars need to keep themselves within striking distance of the Sharks between now and their final meeting with HPU on Feb. 22 if they want to win the conference regular-season title.

The Eagles' stated aim at the beginning of this season was to finish in the top-5 during their first year in the PacWest. A win on Saturday would help the Eagles put some distance between themselves and the traffic jam that is the middle portion of the current conference standings. And with the caliber of team Azusa Pacific is, a win might even galvanize the Eagles for the final stretch of the conference schedule and help them finish four or five spots above where they were projected to finish in the PacWest preseason poll was released (eighth).

In order to upset the No. 18 team in the nation, Biola will need to produce another strong showing on the defensive side of the ball. The Eagles allow the second-fewest points per game in the conference (64.1) and have held opponents to under 10 points in a quarter four times in the last five games. Head Coach Alan Nakamura's team has been particularly good at using stops to create momentum on offense during its three-game winning streak and will hope to use the same formula to take control of the game on Saturday.

MEN'S PREVIEW
This is the second meeting of the season between BU and APU with the two teams going back-and-forth in front of just about 2,000 people out in Azusa back during Christmas break.

APU rode a strong second-half to a six-point victory in that one, outlasting a 32-point explosion by the Eagles' Trevor Treinen. Azusa Pacific dominated the boards that night with a 52-32 advantage on the glass. If Biola can cut into that margin a little and maintain its high shooting percentage (Biola has a season FG % 30 points higher than APU) it could spell success for the Eagles here at home.

Biola has a big monkey off its back now that it managed to scrape out its first two PacWest wins of the year on its road trip last week. Prior to those victories the Eagles had solid numbers and plenty of close games but just could not seem to get over the hump.

Now with increased confidence and playing in front of what we expect to be the largest crowd in years Biola will look to knock off one of the conference's top-2 teams and split the season series with its biggest rival.

APU's Mandrell Worthy scored 21 points off the bench in the previous meeting, so slowing him and APU's regular standouts Darien McClain and Petar Kutlesic will also be a big key defensively tonight.

Both teams come into play as winners of two of their last three.