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Jazz Benn, Michael Bagatourian and Stephanie Lee dribbling basketballs

Three Eagles Honored By PacWest

Michael Bagatourian, Jazz Benn and Stephanie Lee all earned All-Conference recognition on Wednesday.

March 04, 2020


LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola Men's Basketball and Biola Women's Basketball are both in the midst of successful first seasons as full members in NCAA Division II. The teams will play in the PacWest Conference tournament later in the week, but before that, the conference handed out its annual awards.

The Eagles had a trio of players recognized by the PacWest Conference, including Michael Bagatourian earning men's basketball's highest annual honor since joining the PacWest Conference.

Bagatourian earned his first all-conference honors with selection to the All-PacWest second team. Jazz Benn also earned All-PacWest honors by landing on the third team. Benn earned honorable mention honors last season and moved up with her noteworthy 2019-20 season. Finally, Stephanie Lee earned Biola's second basketball PacWest Freshman of the Year honors.

Michael Bagatourian was the steadying force for Dr. Dave Holmquist's 17-11 (13-9 PacWest) team all season long. The junior started all 28 games and played 34+ minutes-per-game throughout the season. He averaged 15.6 points-per-game and averaged 7.6 rebounds-per-game to finish second on the team in both categories.

He finished top-10 in the PacWest in points, rebounds, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and minutes. Bagatourian finished the regular season with seven double-doubles and recorded five 20+ scoring efforts. He led Biola in scoring eight times and rebounding 12 times throughout the year.

His second team honors are the best in Biola Men's Basketball's PacWest history (2017-present). Only DeMoria White's all-conference first team honors for Biola Women's Basketball in 2017-18 topped Bags' placement this year.

The frontrunner for this award after winning PacWest Freshman of the Week four of the first five weeks of the season, guard Stephanie Lee was named the conference's Freshman of the Year after leading all PacWest freshman in scoring (10.2 points per game) and three-pointers (57). 

The Brea, California-native also finished second among freshmen in steals with 44 and averaged 10.6 points per game during conference play. Lee led the Eagles in scoring a team-best six times, helping Biola to a 5-1 record in those games, and she had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. 

She had 11 of her 13 double-digit scoring efforts against conference opponents, including a career-high 26 in a win over Point Loma on January 29. She also shot 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. 

"It has been exciting to see Stephanie grow with our team. She is a humble, quality, godly young lady who has embraced the 'Together' culture of our program, and the team has embraced her," said Head Coach Alan Nakamura. "Because of her humility, work ethic, and team-first attitude, Stephanie's teammates are excited about seeing her win this award. Every day Stephanie came to the gym ready to work, learn, and help the team to get better. And Stephanie would be the first to say that this is a team honor."

After earning All-PacWest honorable mention in 2019, Jazz Benn kept up her double-digit scoring production (10.4 points per game) while helping the Eagles qualify for the PacWest tournament by transitioning to a more traditional forward role. She led the team to an outstanding 18-10 (14-8 PacWest) record in their first season postseason eligible. 

Biola leaned on Benn when it mattered most, as she averaged 33.9 minutes-per-game against the five other teams that qualified for the PacWest tournament and 31.8 minutes with 9.5 points per game in conference road games. Benn was top-25 in the PacWest for scoring with 10.4 ppg and led the Eagles in scoring six times, including her career-high 27-point game against Hawaii Pacific on February 15. Benn currently stands as Biola Women's Basketball scoring leader for the NCAA-Era with 881 points. 

She also led the Eagles in assists 10 times this season, finishing top-15 in the conference in that category, and helped Biola to a 12-6 record in the 16 games during which she scored 10 points or more. 

"Jazz is a multi-talented player who does whatever is needed by the team, and the team counts on her to play a complete game," said Nakamura. "She does not need to score to be a valuable contributor to our team. Jazz leads by example, working hard in practice, and on her own. And this year she has grown to become a more vocal leader. Jazz had an outstanding season!"

Both teams begin PacWest Conference tournament play on Thursday at the Felix Event Center in Azusa, California. The women begin the effort with a 2:45 p.m. matchup against Point Loma (18-10, 14-8 PacWest). The men follow that with a 7:15 p.m. opening round matchup against Concordia Irvine (20-11, 14-8 PacWest).

Follow all PacWest Conference tournament games at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/pacwest/.
 
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