LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Head Coach Dr. Dave Holquist enters his 39th season at the helm of Biola Men's Basketball in 2018-19, and he and the Eagles are hoping for improvement during their second season in the PacWest Conference.

Under the leadership of Holmquist, Biola has only had three losing seasons and has never had back-to-back losing campaigns. The Eagles will need at least a three-game turnaround to accomplish a .500 record this year and keep that statement true. Holmquist's teams averaged six-game improvements after their two previous losing seasons.

Biola was 8-7 inside of Chase Gym last year, and they will have 16 home games scheduled for the 18-19 campaign thanks to the hosting duties they've got in the season-opening PacWest/CCAA Crossover tournament. Catch some home basketball beginning Nov. 9-10 as BU faces CSU San Marcos and CSU Los Angeles as part of the four-game mini-tournament.

Of course, the highlight of the home calendar is the Azusa Pacific game. The Eagles and Cougars play each other about two months earlier this year as BU hosts its biggest rivals inside of Chase Gym at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15.

The two teams split the season series in 2018-19, with the Cougars claiming the contest in Azusa and Biola owning the LaMi matchup, thanks to Blake Shannon, Jr. The first matchup of the 18-19 season will be the 120th all-time between the two sides.

Azusa Pacific will host the rivalry matchup just over a month later on January 19.

The Eagles play 22 PacWest Conference games during the 18-19 season. That is two more than in 17-18 and is because of the departure of California Baptist and Dixie State from the conference. With 12 teams, it's now possible for a balanced conference schedule where each institution has a home-and-home matchup.

The Eagles end their season with five consecutive home games throughout the last two weeks of February. Those matchups will be crucial to Biola's ability to improve its conference finish in 2018-19, as only one of those five opponents (Chaminade) reached the conference tournament in 2017-18.

Biola plays its Senior Night against Academy of Art at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. Biola will have a loaded senior class this season, featuring Trevor Treinen, Levi Auble, Alex Talman, Christian Carroll and Steve Herve.

This is the final season where the Eagles are ineligible for NCAA Postseason competition and also ineligible for the PacWest Conference Tournament. If they finish near the top of the conference standings, they will be able to compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association Championships. If qualified, the Eagles will compete at the NCCAA tournament March 13-16 at Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana.