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Whitten Dominguez at free throw line
George Rodriguez
54
Biola BIO 21-8,14-6 PacWest
75
Winner Azusa Pacific APU 20-8,15-4 PacWest
Biola BIO
21-8,14-6 PacWest
54
Final
75
Azusa Pacific APU
20-8,15-4 PacWest
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Biola BIO 30 24 54
Azusa Pacific APU 36 39 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Cougars Advance

Biola's season comes to a close in the PacWest Conference semifinals.


FRESNO, Calif. — Biola 2021-22 season came to a close on Friday afternoon in drizly Fresno, California. The Eagles struggled to find an offensive rhythm all game long against the No. 2 defense in the PacWest, and as a result suffered a big defeat at the hands of rivals Azusa Pacific in the conference semifinals.

Azusa Pacific utilized an 11-2 run to start the second half to build a big enough advantage to put it in crust control for the rest of the game en route to a 75-54 result that sends APU into the PacWest Conference Championship game for the first time in their program history.

"They played real well. Their defense played really hard and we missed some shots we normally hit. A lot of that had to do with their defense I am sure," said Head Coach Dr. Dave Holmquist. "We didn't play our best game today, but we've played a lot of great games over the past three years."

It was a difficult result to swallow for an incredibly talented Biola team that was hoping for more during its final postseason together as a core contingent.

This one marks the last time Chris Rossow, Michael Bagatourian, Jesse Elrod, Whitten Dominguez and Solomon Ruddell will suit up for the Biola Eagles. We want to be sure to thank them and their families for the contributions to the program over the last few years.

"Once we get some perspective in a couple of days, I think a lot of these guys are going to look back with a lot of great feelings about their career and their year. I am very grateful to have coached them," said Holmquist. "This team will always be well-remembered by me. I have a lot of great feelings about these guys."

APU came into this one as the higher seed (No. 2 vs. No. 3) and they had beaten Biola two times over the course of the regular season, but there were high hopes and optimism on the Biola side due to how similar these teams matched up in key statistics.

The big difference was depth and that was on display in this one. To win, Biola needed its top rotation to carry the full load and have a consistent, effective performance. APU could get it from anywhere up-and-down its 10-man lineup.

In this one the consistent, effective effort came from APU's second unit. The Cougars got an astounding 42 points from their bench, led By 14 from Sasha French (7-for-8) and 14 from McKelary Robertson (4-for-4 from deep).

That group of five was in for the big run to start the second frame, which turned out to be the moment the game completely flipped into a heavy favor for APU. 

Biola was also down double figures in the first half, but the Eagles had the momentum headed into the break, using an and-one play and tough Bagatourian bucket to score five in a row to end the first down by just six points.

Bags went back-to-back by scoring the final bucket of the first and the first bucket of the second and it seemed as if the ship was righted and the starters from Biola were ready to go get the lead back and create a competitive game.

APU had other plans, though, and would go on to make five of their next six attempts from the field to get the lead from four points back to double digits in the blink of an eye. Two Biola turnovers assisted APU in building that lead back quickly and the Eagles never again got the lead down to within single digits, trailing by 10 or more for the final 17 minutes and 24 seconds.

It was a tough finish for Biola, who played these same Cougars to a one-point game just under two weeks ago and typically is a very strong tournament team. 

"I always judge a season by looking back at how many close wins you had and how many close losses you had," said Holmquist. "For us, the number of close wins this year far outnumbers the number of close losses. When you win a lot of close games it says a lot about the heart of your team."

The Eagles just were not getting points where they usually find them in this one. As a team, BU shot just 37 percent in the game, including 13-for-35 in the first half and 9-for-24 in the second half.

The team made three first-half three-point shots as it looked for a while like they'd be able to keep pace in that critical category today. Unfortunately, things dried up and the Eagles only hit on one of their final 14 three-point attempts after beginning the contest 3-for-7.

Dominguez led the charge for Biola with 15 points. He was 6-for-13 from the field and has been one of the most consistent scorers for the team over the final few weeks of his Biola career.

"Overall we've had a great year, and we had a great run last year, too. Right now it's a bit of a sour taste in the mouth," said Dominguez. "I love Mike and all these guys I've played with. We just need to zoom out a bit and look at all the games we've had before."

Jesse Elrod (12) and Chris Rossow (11) each also eclipsed 10 points, but it was a tough go for Rossow who was working hard for just 4-for-15 shooting on the night.

Alex Wright was the big scorer missing today. He still did many great things for the Eagles, with a team-high eight rebounds and three assists to just one turnover. 

But, the redshirt junior only took five shots and made none of them to sit scoreless for the fifth time in his 102 appearances as an Eagle. The last time Wright was held without a point was in Biola's final game of last season, during the second round regional matchup at Colorado School of Mines.

The Eagles' season comes to a close with a 21-8 overall record. It's the first time in the NCAA Division II era that Biola Men's Basketball's eclipsed the 20-win mark. It's the 30th time a Dr. Dave Holmquist coached team finishes its year with 20 wins or more.

"I've been around a long time - five years," said Michael Bagatourian. "We've had a lot of great teams in those five years. The last three years, especially, we've had a really close group that's tight-knit. It sucks to go out this way, but in a couple days I can look back with more gratitude." 

Biola turns its attention now to 2022-23, where things will look a whole lot different as only Alex Wright will return from this year's regular starting five. Look for big steps forward from Maximo Milovich, Omari Maulana, Kevin Stone and others when the season begins Friday, November 11, 2022.
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