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Scoreboard

Whitten Dominguez dribbling
Guava Press Media
89
Biola BIO 11-3,5-2 PacWest
97
Winner Hawaii Hilo Hilo 8-4,4-1 PacWest
Biola BIO
11-3,5-2 PacWest
89
Final
97
Hawaii Hilo Hilo
8-4,4-1 PacWest
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Biola BIO 39 50 89
Hawaii Hilo Hilo 47 50 97

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Close To Perfect

Biola nearly completed a perfect Hawaiian road trip, but instead is tripped up at Hilo.

HILO, Hawaii — Taking three of three out in Hawaii is never easy, and Biola Men's Basketball found that out on Monday night as it dropped the road trip finale to Hawaii Hilo, 97-89. 

Turnovers, missed free throws and a hot shooting, high-tempo opponent proved to be too much to take on Monday, snapping Biola's three-game win streak and (for now) knocking the Eagles out of first place in the conference. Biola had its best shooting night of the season in the losing effort, making 35 of its 59 shots from the field to shoot just under 60 percent.

The Vulcans used a 42-point run over 12 minutes between the end of the first and start of the second to build a big enough advantage to outlast BU, despite the Eagles having the clear advantage for much of the second half. 

The massive streak of scoring for Hilo came immediately after Biola went on a hot streak for four minutes to build a comfortable lead late in the first half. At this point, Biola outscored the hosts 14-5 while making six of seven shots to take a 35-28 lead. Six different Eagles scored during that run, making it seem as if the team-first Eagles were settling in.

Unfortunately for Biola, immediately following a Solomon Ruddell bucket to push out to 35, things dried up significantly as Hilo swung the pendulum back significantly into their favor.

From the 3:57 mark in the first period until the 12:03 mark in the second period the Hawaii Hilo offense exploded for 42 points to build a 17-point lead. Twenty-four of those 42 points came from beyond the three-point line, which was one of two great causes for separation between the two sides on this night. 

The Vulcans scored 13 three-point shots, as opposed to just seven for Biola, equating to a crucial six-point swing in what ended up being an eight-point game.

Biola, behind strong second-half contributions from Alex Wright and Michael Bagatourian, brought the game back within reach in the final minutes of play. However, Hawaii Hilo's flawless execution of the fundamentals helped them maintain the edge.

Hilo was 15-for-15 from the free-throw line over the final 10 minutes of play, while the Eagles were just 5-for-10 in their chances from the line. 

The five misses at the stripe include a few misses on 1-and-1 chances in the final two minutes. These misses helped Hilo ensure the Eagles never got it closer than a two-possession game in the waning minutes.

Chris Rossow led Biola in scoring, pouring in 16 points in the first half and another 11 in the second to end with 27. He was behind only Hawaii Hilo's Darren Williams, who scored 28 behind nine free throws and three threes.

Alex Wright (22) and Bagatourian (17) also finished in double digits, with 75 percent of their combined scoring coming in the second half. Biola shot an incredible 69 percent in the final 20 minutes, but couldn't find all the answers on the defensive end to come away with the win.

The free throw trouble, 14 turnovers and invention of the three-point line were a perfect storm on Monday. The loss drops Biola to 11-3 (5-2 PacWest). Hawaii Hilo is now winners of four in a row to improve to 8-4 (4-1 PacWest).

The pressure on Biola remains high as they return to the mainland. The Eagles conclude their roadstand with a 4 p.m. matchup at Point Loma (8-7, 4-3 PacWest) Saturday. The Sea Lions will host Biola after a road test at APU on Wednesday.
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