OAKLAND, Calif. --- Biola Men's Basketball did all it could in challenging conditions on Thursday night, but the men ultimately came short against a surging Holy Names Hawks team, 76-72. The Eagles have now lost three in a row, while the Hawks with Thursday's win have a three-game winning streak for the second time this season.

Wins haven't been easy to come by for this Hawks team, but when they do come they seem to come in bunches. That was the case on Thursday as the Eagles became the latest victim to a Holy Names team that improved to 8-13 overall and 6-9 in PacWest Conference play.

The loss puts Biola into a more precarious position as it relates to the PacWest Conference tournament. The team now has an 8-8 conference mark, which puts it in a three-way tie in the loss column - splitting the fifth, sixth and seventh places in the PacWest. If those teams end the year tied, Biola is currently in a spot where it'd be the odd team out due to tiebreakers.

The game was certainly a choppy one, where precautious officiating made it hard for either team to get in too good of a rhythm throughout the night. There were 36 total fouls called on the night, and two technical fouls for flop warnings - one for each team.

Both teams shot 44 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. Holy Names made four threes as opposed to one for Biola to earn some extra points. Biola was razor sharp from the free-throw line though, helping the team stay in the game. 

BU shot 11-of-12 from the stripe in the first half and trailed by just two at halftime (38-36). Holy Names got even hotter from deep in the first few minutes of the second half and used the first 10 minutes or so to build the largest lead of the game by either team, going up by as much as 14 points.

The combination of Michael Bagatourian, Jesse Elrod and Chris Rossow helped the Eagles climb back into the game and get within two at a couple of points late in the game. Defensive intensity keyed a few of the successful possessions for BU as the team managed six steals and created 15 points off turnover.

Two particular instances stand out. The first being a steal that turned into a Bagatourian dunk at the other end, cutting the lead back to within five for the first time after HNU's big run in half two. The second was a play where Rossow actually stole the ball not once, but twice in one trip down the floor and then did the work to take the ball all the way to the bucket himself. That strip and score made it just a 68-66 game with two-and-a-half minutes left and allowed Biola to begin to see its chance to win.

That chance would fizzle out a bit down the stretch as both teams missed shots, missed rebounds and racked up fouls. The toughest part for BU had to be when the Eagles picked up a defensive rebound far away from the basket, transitioning up the court still down two with just under a minute left. But, just as the team crossed half-court they had the ball called back because Biola was flagged for its flopping technical as a few players fell to the floor under the basket.

That allowed HNU to hit free throws, extend the lead and basically put the game to bed. Both teams had really strong nights from the free-throw line. HNU made all of its final six free-throw chances, much to the dismay of Biola fans. The Hawks were 18-for-22 on the night. Biola went 21-for-22 from the stripe.

The spot the really killed Biola, as it has in many of the tough losses this year, was the three-point shot. The Eagles went just 3-for-20 for the game, which is the second-lowest percentage of the season from deep (15.0 percent).

Bagatourian ended up leading all scorers with 24 points. He was 9-for-9 from FT. Marquise Mosley (13) and Chris Rossow (13) both also hit double-digits. Mosley did most of his work at the line as well, going 7-for-8 from there despite finding a tough go from the field (3-for-12).

Biola was held to just 26 rebounds, which is a new season-low. 

The Eagles will look to bounce back Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against Academy of Art (8-14, 6-9 PacWest). Like Holy Names, ART U has won its last three contests.