LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Following a 10-month hiatus, it was Biola Men's Basketball that shook off the rust and had the first athletic event since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was a track meet throughout as the Eagles and Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks traded possessions and baskets at an untraditionally high rate while compiling an entertaining 90-81 scoreline, which fell in favor of the visiting NNU team.

"This (Today's games) has meant so much to us after 10 months of hard work to get to this point," said senior director of athletics Dr. Bethany Miller. "There have been so many protocols, so many administrative layers and really our focus on student-athletes putting in such hard work to return to sport. So, to get to this day to be day one of competitive season for our basketball programs and really for our entire university has just a tremendous sacrifice."

Hot three-point shooting and better ball control were the keys that swung the game in favor of the Nighthawks. Biola had a stretch late in the first half and early in the second where the turnovers and missed shots piled up a bit too much, affording NNU as large as a 20-point lead with just under seven minutes left in the game.

The Eagles ended the contest on a 16-5 run to bring the game all the way back to single digits, but it was too little, too late as they came up nine points short. BU hit 7-of-12 shots down that stretch run, being led by seven points from junior Whitten Dominguez.

Dominguez was one of six double-digit scorers for the Eagles in this one. He finished up with 13 points on an impressive 5-of-7 shooting clip. Michael Bagatourian led all scorers with 15 points. Chris Rossow (14), Alex Wright (14), Jesse Elrod (13) and impressive freshman Maximo Milovich (10) were the rest to hit 10+.

Biola came out of the gates matching the Nighthawks possession-for-possession as both teams shot over 60 percent from the floor in the first 12 minutes of play. However, NNU's were counting for more as they hit an astonishing 12 first-half three-pointers, including one right at the buzzer to send the hosts to the locker room staring at a 52-43 deficit.

"When the tip went up, it just felt good," said junior guard Alex Wright. "Finally we can play and we're back on the floor together. We're all trying to get our game legs back and get the chemistry. It's about time, it's about time."

The Nighthawks began the half on a 31-20 run to open up that 20-point lead. The Eagles defense looked at times like a defense that hadn't played 5-on-5 in almost 10 months allowing plenty open looks early in that second half.

This helped NNU keep up their shooting percentage throughout the contest and gave the buffer they needed to close out. 

Rossow nearly hit a double-double with nine assists to go with his 14 points. He only turned the ball over twice also, leading the year off with a great effort at the point.

Biola only had 32 rebounds on the afternoon and those were all spread out as the players crashed the glass. Alex Wright's six led the effort, with Rossow and Milovich chipping in five each.

"I'm excited. We have film to watch now and get after it this week in practice and that's going to set the tone for our games for the rest of the season," said Wright.

Biola falls to 0-1 on the year following the loss. Northwest Nazarene improved to 3-1 and bounced back after a big loss to Point Loma on Friday.

The Eagles will get their chance to bounce back next week as conference play begins at Azusa Pacific on Jan. 22.