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Chris Rossow plays defense
George Rodriguez
67
Azusa Pacific APU 3-4,3-3 PacWest
70
Winner Biola BIO 5-2,5-1 PacWest
Azusa Pacific APU
3-4,3-3 PacWest
67
Final
70
Biola BIO
5-2,5-1 PacWest
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Azusa Pacific APU 31 36 67
Biola BIO 36 34 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Classic Clash Favors Eagles

Biola gets a three-point win over APU in another classic battle.


LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Incredibly, Saturday night's 70-67 victory over Azusa Pacific men's basketball was the 27th time in the 55-year rivalry between Biola and APU that a game was decided by one possession or fewer. 

That's 27 times in 115 recorded meetings, meaning 23 percent of the time these two teams have met it's been a one-possession barn burner, and that is exactly why this rivalry is called the best small college rivalry in sports.

It may have felt just a little bit different on this night, because President Barry H. Corey was the ONLY fan in the stands, which is a far cry from the typical packed out Chase Gymnasium for BU vs. APU. But, the win means just as much for a Biola team that's vying for a spot in the NCAA Division II postseason for the first time.

"I've always loved close wins.. Close losses are so painful and close wins you feel so fortunate," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist. "We happened to make a couple plays at the end and we executed our press offense well. I just feel fortunate that we got this one. I'm proud of our team. We played real hard this weekend."

The win helps Biola take three-of-four from Azusa Pacific in the season series. It's the first time in the NCAA Division II era that Biola's won the regular season series from APU. The last time it happened for BU was back in the 2009-10 regular season when both teams were still in the NAIA's Golden State Athletic Conference.

Biola led for nearly the entire night, with APU only holding an advantage over four minutes of the contest. However, the Cougars are the team that had the lead with less than 10 seconds left in the game, which helped set up another classic rivalry night finish. 
 
Azusa Pacific used a Ben Avera three-point make to cap off a 10-2 run from the 5:58 mark to the 2:57 mark in the second half and steal the lead from Biola at 67-64. It was Avera's fourth three-point make of the night and was a part of Azusa's hottest scoring segment of the night (4-for-5).

Unfortunately for the Cougars, and extremely beneficial for Biola, that Avera bucket would be the last one of the game for APU as Biola's stingy defense closed the game out incredibly strong. The final few minutes of effort was spearheaded by Whitten Dominguez, who was making critical hustle plays on both ends of the floor and firing up his teammates.

"I know that we're a real gritty team. That's our ID," said Alex Wright. "I told the guys when there was two minutes left, '…..we've been here before, let's keep grinding away. We know what to do. Let's put these guys away.'"

That's exactly what Biola did as the Eagles closed out the contest with six consecutive points, coming from Jesse Elrod (2), Maximo Milovich (2) and Alex Wright (2). Biola out-rebounded APU 6-1 in the final 2:57 with offensive boards from Elrod and Dominguez paving the way for the win and Alex Wright's defensive rebound with three seconds left sealing it.

After Wright pulled down the rebound he was immediately fouled. APU was not yet in the bonus, so Biola did get a chance to inbound the ball. Inbound it they did. Michael Bagatourian threw a one-handed football toss down two-thirds of the floor to find a streaking Wright on a breakaway for an easy lay-in to extend the lead.
 
APU had a chance to get one last look at the basket with 0.6 on the clock. However, Elrod's in-your-face defense rejected the first inbound pass and cut the time down to less than what would be needed to make a shot, clinching the victory for BU.

It was a well-earned victory for this experienced, exciting and electric 2021 bunch of Eagles. Biola clearly asserted itself as the better team in this rivalry in this calendar year, which should inspire confidence for the future with every member of this team back next season.

Alex Wright dropped in 22 and picked up his fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 10 rebounds. No one on APU could tally more than 12 in this one. Wright shot 9-for-15 overall and played all 40 minutes for the second-straight day. He leads the PacWest Conference in minutes-per-game this season.

Michael Bagatourian (13) and Milovich (11) also had double figures for BU. Milovich was quietly consistent for BU, going 4-for-7 and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Biola only got sent to the line for three total free throws in this one, going 3-for-3.

Chris Rossow continued his incredible ball distribution. He's been the key reason behind Biola's ability to move the ball so well, move the ball with incredible pace and score in such high volume this season. 

Rossow added 10 assists tonight. It's the sixth time in seven games this season he's had at least five assists. His 7.0 assists-per-game number this season is almost two full assists more than anyone else in the conference. He is top-5 in all of NCAA Division II in that category. He has just 21 turnovers to go with those 49 assists.
 
Biola out-rebounded the Cougars 41-30 with an incredible 12-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. Rossow had eight rebounds, Milovich six and Bagatourian five to help Wright in the total team effort.

"They went on a run at the end of the game, but we weathered the storm and kept our composure because we're an experienced team," said Elrod. "With the defensive rebounds at the end, everything was huge."

Biola (5-2, 5-1 PacWest) is going to need every bit of that experience next week as they face the vaunted #8/#14 Point Loma Sea Lions (5-0, 4-0 PacWest) for the first time this season. The first scheduled doubleheader between the two sides was called off as PLNU spent two weeks sidelined due to conference COVID-19 protocols.

The home-and-home Friday-Saturday doubleheader begins at Biola on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Watch the game live for free on the Biola Athletics YouTube Channel.
 
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