LA MIRADA, Calif. --- In just its second season eligible, Biola Men's Basketball has earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship. The Eagles were announced as the recipient of the PacWest Conference automatic qualifying bid on Sunday afternoon. Later on Sunday evening Biola (9-3) found out it was the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Division II West Region and would face No. 6-seed Fresno Pacific (11-4) in the first round.

"This is a very tough-minded team," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist. "We have improved each week against three very talented and well-coached teams. We are very pleased with how this season has gone."

There's no doubt that Saturday's 79-74 victory over No. 12 Point Loma is what solidified the Eagles' 2021 resume and earned them the AQ by way of a simple majority in the vote by the athletic directors of the conference. Point Loma (8-2) was also selected to the tournament as the No. 4 seed out west.

Biola is one of 48 teams to be selected to the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship field. The Eagles will participate in a six-team NCAA West Region Championship at Colorado School of Mines from March 12-15.

This year's west regional has been restructured due to the fact that two of the traditional west region conferences (GNAC, CCAA) did not fully participate in the 2021 season. As a result, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference was added to the West Region to bring the number of active teams up from 13 to 27.

The six-team west regional is hosted by Colorado School of Mines (16-2), which ends up as the No. 2 seed after the tournament announcement Sunday night. Mines and No. 1-seed Colorado Mesa (21-1) have first-round byes.  A win in the first round would send Biola on to a date with the hosting Orediggers. Colorado Mesa would face the winner of the 4/5 matchup featuring Point Loma and Northwest Nazarene.

1. Colorado Mesa (21-1)
2. Colorado School of Mines (16-2)
3. Biola (9-3)
4. Point Loma (8-2)
5. Northwest Nazarene (11-4)
6. Fresno Pacific (11-4) 

Colorado Mesa defeated Colorado School of Mines in the RMAC Tournament Championship with a thrilling 75-74 overtime win and is the only other automatic qualifier in this year's west region. The other four schools were all at-large bids who found out the fate late Sunday night. The no. 6 seed was the one with the most intrigue as it came down to FPU and fellow PacWest Conference school Hawaii Hilo (10-2).

Biola Men's Basketball becomes the fourth Biola program to earn a trip to the NCAA Division II postseason since the Eagles' first became eligible last year (M Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, W Swimming).

The tournament will be hosted by Colorado School of Mines, with games played at Lockridge Arena in Golden, Colorado. No spectators will be allowed, but all games will be streamed live on the RMAC Network.