AZUSA, Calif. --- After a thrilling two-point, last possession victory from Biola Women's Basketball earlier in the day Biola Men's Basketball had its opportunity to chase a win in its first-ever PacWest Conference Tournament game in the nightcap, facing a Concordia Irvine team it beat exactly one week ago.
 
Biola got a 31-point effort from Chris Rossow and used a big run in the middle of the second half to create space in front of CUI and work its way to an 86-77 win over Concordia to punch a ticket to the PacWest semifinals.
 
"It's a great feeling. Concordia plays so hard on defense and for us to come out and win against them for the second time in a week is really a tribute to our guys," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist. "We're a little bit shorthanded right now, so for they've been playing as hard as they can and are still playing some of our best basketball these last few weeks of the season."
 
Biola outscored CUI 50-37 in a dominant second half, helping the team overcome the hot shooting start by CUI, and specifically Kayle Knuckles, that led to a 40-36 halftime lead. At one point in that first half, Knuckles made four shots in a row, all from beyond the arc to lead his team to as large as a seven-point lead in the half.
 
The big second period for BU was powered by a large increase in scoring efficiency. The red and black Eagles shot 15-for-37 (40%) in the first half, but saw that go up to 17-for-28 (60%) over the final 20 minutes.
 
Rossow's game is what drove that increase in performance. The junior point guard's 31 points was not just a season-best or a best during his time at Biola, but it was actually his career-best during his three NCAA Division II seasons.
 
He went 11-for-18 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. He and Whitten Dominguez were the ones trying to keep Biola just on the heels of CUI in terms of three-point production. Dominguez led the team with a season-best five three-point makes, going 5-for-6 from distance.
 
Biola finished the game 10-for-16 from three-point range, actually finishing with better efficiency than CUI. Rossow added three assists and a season-best six steals to round out his box score and really make the most of his fifth game at the point guard spot.
 

MBB: All alone baby! Chris Rossow puts Biola up 57-54 and forces CUI to take a timeout with 12:09 left!
(Video includes ambient noise and cheering) pic.twitter.com/ugwnd9qQ4a

— Biola Athletics (@BiolaAthletics) March 6, 2020

 
"Throughout my career I've been a point guard. This year I moved to two because we had me and Marquise. Stepping into the one role. I am comfortable, used to it, so it was natural," said Rossow. "Tonight was a big team effort overall, defensive wise. Offensive wise, we were moving the ball, sharing it, taking good shots. That right there – good shots equals good wins."
 
Concordia Irvine virtually replicated their shooting effort in the second half, but the major difference was the downtick in made three-point shots. CUI went 8-for-12 from distance in the first period, but then saw that slip to just 4-for-12 in the second.
 
Knuckles, who went 5-for-7 in the first half, virtually disappeared in half two due to adjustments made by Holmquist and the Biola defense. He still managed a career-high 21 points, but 16 of that was in the first half.
 
"We gave up a lot of open threes, which kept them in the game," said junior forward Michael Bagatourian. "Once we figured that out and started talking more on defense it showed our perseverance and togetherness."
 
Rebounding was key in the game as Biola brought down eight more boards than CUI, limiting the other Eagles to 10 fewer rebounds than their season-average. BU had 10 offensive rebounds, resulting in 16 second-chance points. That was a major factor, since CUI had just three second-chance points off three total offensive rebounds.
 
The game had its ebbs and flows, but the gist of it is that CUI had one good run late in the first half to go into the break with the lead, then the two teams settled back to neck-and-neck until a late Biola run allowed them to control things down the stretch and get the W.
 
Biola was trailing as late as the 12-minute mark in the second frame, but an 11-3 run between 12:37-10:10 helped BU stake a 64-57 lead and begin to turn the game into its own style of play. Rossow scored nine of Biola's 11 points in that game-changing run.
 
Concordia cut the game to as close as one point, but another quick run between 4:28 and 2:06 extended it back out to nine points. Rossow again had a large role in the run, scoring half the team's points.
 

MBB: SMOOTH! Rossow euros Biola into 75-68 lead with 2:29 remaining.
(Video includes ambient noise and cheering) pic.twitter.com/86qNMeILVL

— Biola Athletics (@BiolaAthletics) March 6, 2020

 
Biola finished with four double-digit scorers, led by Rossow's 31, of course. Michael Bagatourian (18), Dominguez (17) and Elrod (12) joined him. All four shot better than 50 percent in the contest.
 
"[This win] means a lot to me," said Bagatourian. "Before I got here there was a lot of NAIA success, and then the last two years we were ineligible. I am doing it for all those guys who weren't able to go to the playoffs."
 

MBB: BIOLA WINS! @michaelbags0's @DangeRussWilson pass seals the first @ThePacWest tournament win for @biolau Men's Basketball, 86-77 over Concordia! pic.twitter.com/FkCpOjU52N

— Biola Athletics (@BiolaAthletics) March 6, 2020

 
The win breaks a deadlock that was between these two teams over the last 10 years of matchups. Each program had won 17 games vs. the other since the start of 2011, and now Biola has the slim advantage there.
 
Biola improves to 18-11 following the first round win over Concordia Irvine. The Eagles have now won five games in a row, including regular and postseason play.
 
"It feels very good," said Holmquist. "This is an excellent level of basketball. Every conference game is tough. To qualify for the tournament and win our first game gives us confidence that we're going in the right direction and building something good."
 
Both Biola teams winning their first PacWest Tournament games is a sign of a promising future for both teams within the conference. But for now, both teams have marquee matchups coming up on Friday night. For the men – this means a rivalry rematch with No. 6 Azusa Pacific (25-3, 20-2 PacWest).
 
The Cougars are the top team in the conference this year, and the no. 1 seed in the tournament. Tip-off is booked for 7:15 p.m. at the Felix Event Center in Azusa, CA. Stay tuned for a full matchup preview.