LA MIRADA, Calif. --- As Dr. Dave Holmquist continues his climb to 1,000 career coaching victories, we want to take some time to look back at some memorable moments during his five decades at Biola. 

Today's edition highlights the 39-1 1981-82 team, which was ranked No. 1 nationally, made it to the NAIA National Championship game and now claims membership in the Biola Athletics Hall of Fame. 

The Eagles set an NAIA record for most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 in the nation when they concluded the regular season 32-0 and had been tops in the country for eight-straight weeks.

This team was Holmquist's fourth Biola team. He and Howard Lyon were named NAIA Co-Coaches of the Year that season, while Wade Kirchmeyer and Mark Sontoski both earned NAIA All-American First Team recognition (All-American Announcement).

"Coach Lyon knows all the fundamental techniques and subtleties of the game," said senior Rich Cundall, the Eagles' playmaker. "Dave has been an asset because he's close to us in age and because he's a great motivator."

The 81-82 campaign was one where Biola was focused on building on a very successful 1980-81 season. The year previous Biola went 25-7 overall and was eliminated by the narrowest margin (52-50) to Huron College (S.D.) in the second round of the NAIA National Championship. This iteration of the team returned nine players from the 80-81 squad, including all five starters. 

"There's and old quote from President Truman, 'It's amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares who gets the credit,'" said Holmquist. "This is a very special group and that's for reasons far beyond winning 39 games."

Headed into 1981-82, Biola Men's Basketball had never won more than 26 games in any season. This Eagles bunch met that mark in early-February with a win over The Master's University, then known as Los Angeles Baptist College (RECAP). 

The Eagles won their 26th contest by a tally of 91-46, continuing to cement itself as the top defensive team in the NAIA. On the season, Holmquist's team would allow opponents just an average of 50.8 points-per-game.

Biola would go on to finish its regular season 32-0, concluding the regular season with a pair of thrilling overtime victories scattered among its final three contests. The first of those overtime victories came over the Eagles' biggest rival of the time, Westmont College. Holmquist and Lyon's Biola side won 60-50 in OT up at Westmont before finishing the season six days later with a 53-45 OT win over its current biggest rival, Azusa Pacific (GAME RECAP). 

The final game of the regular season was Holmquist's 100th win at Biola and at the time gave Biola 51 wins in its last 53 outings. The team would go on to win another eight in a row in the postseason to make it an incredible 59 of 61.

Biola's entire starting five of Kirchmeyer, Sontoski, Rich Cundall, Pat McDougall and Warren Ellis earned all-league honors that year. They each started all 40 contests for Biola, amassing over 2,200 points scored. Kirchmeyer alone tallied 691 points on the season, which is still third-best in a single season for Biola.

The Eagles went 3-0 in the district playoffs to improve to 35-0 and enter the NAIA National Championship as the No. 1 team in the nation and No. 1 overall seed. After defeating Southern California College (Vanguard) in the district finals, the Eagles would pose postgame for an unforgettable photo as "undefeated, untied and undeniably the nation's best." (GAME RECAP) 

McDougall was a huge part of the district finals victory, with his work under the basket helping Biola out-rebound SCC by an incredibly 47-29 tally. McDougall had three blocks in the game, too, helping him along his path to an eventual 93-block season.

McDougall described he and his teammates' effort on the season as "a group of modestly recruited basketball players coming together to accomplish basketball history."

The win over Vanguard was a big one, giving the Eagles a third-straight district title, but it was the 54-50 win over Westmont in the semifinals that was an even bigger emotional boost. It gave Biola a 3-0 record against Westmont for the season and brought the Eagles to 13-18 all-time against the Warriors. The Eagles and Warriors now have 112 all-time meetings under their belts.

Biola was pushed to the brink in round one of the NAIA National Championship, needing two overtime periods to push past West Virginia Tech in a 69-66 first-round victory. The game was played in front of a then record crowd of over 10,000 people. It was the first of five games in six days as Holmquist's bunch made their march to the title game.

Following a 62-56 second round victory over Quincy College (Ill.), Biola officially set the record for most wins in a single season by a men's college basketball program. The previous record was 36, held by Kentucky, Regis (Colo.) and Newberry (S.C.). Biola's 39 wins is still the second-most in any campaign by a men's college basketball team (Lipscomb went 41-5 in 1989-90).

The win over Quincy was a hard-fought one as Biola battled back from being down by nine points (50-41) with about six minutes left to play. Kirchmeyer scored 20+ for the second time in as many tournament games to help lift the Eagles to victory. McDougall again made his presence known with 12 points, seven assists, five rebounds and a trio of blocks.

The Eagles would outscore opponents 257-237 over the first four rounds of competition, using an 84-75 victory over Kearney State (Neb.) to punch the ticket to a championship matchup with South Carolina-Spartanburg (now NCAA Division I USC-Upstate). 

The 84-point effort was double what Biola scored in the third round of the tournament as the Eagles had to adjust a bit against the top offensive team in the entire tournament. Kearney State entered that semifinal matchup averaging just under 90 points-per-game, but the Eagles' stingy defense held them to 14 fewer than that. Biola shot a noteworthy 64 percent from the field to finish the job and head into the finals to try and defend the No. 1 ranking.

No No.1 team had earned a win in the NAIA finals since 1967, and unfortunately for this record-setting bunch that streak would remain intact as cinderella-story Spartanburg Rifles would win the defensive struggle to claim its only national championship in program history. Biola's last lead in the final was 28-27 with just under 10 minutes left to play. (FINAL SEASON REVIEW)

McDougall recalls that the team returned to La Mirada with a bevy of fans and supporters at LAX to welcome them home and congratulate them on an excellent season. He then went on to explain how much it meant when about a month later the team was invited to come to the US Olympic Training facility in Colorado Springs and participate in a postseason tournament, meaning the seniors' career would not need to end in a loss.

The 81-82 team was the third of the 21 teams Holmquist would lead to the final site of the NAIA Men's Basketball Championship tournament between 1979 and Biola's exit from the NAIA in 2017. It is one of five 30+ win seasons Biola's had under Holmquist and one of 11 29+ win seasons.

Cundall, one of three men on this team to average double digits during the 81-82 season, has high praise for Holmquist and the impact he's had on his road to 1,000.

"Your contributions are worth a whole lot more than accolades," Cundall said. "You're able to get the most out of people. Your players respond. You're more than a coach. You're a friend. Think of how much influence YOU have had on the world through just us. Now multiply this impact by 40."

The 81-82 group was inducted into the Biola Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019 and is to date the only team in the Eagles' Hall of Fame. (FULL INDUCTION CEREMONY VIDEO)