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celebration
Aaron Rollins
75
Chaminade Cham 5-10,1-6 PacWest
76
Winner Biola BIO 10-4,5-1 PacWest
Chaminade Cham
5-10,1-6 PacWest
75
Final
76
Biola BIO
10-4,5-1 PacWest
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Chaminade Cham 49 26 75
Biola BIO 40 36 76

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Ethan McGarvey, Sports Information Director

Esparza Scores Game-Winner Encore

The Eagles took the lead in the waning seconds with a bucket from Daniel Esparza for a win over Chaminade.

LA MIRADA --- The excitement on New Year's Day peaked after midnight and into the late evening. The start of 2024 saw fireworks on Monday night, as Daniel Esparza sank the go-ahead basket with five seconds left, helping Biola (10-4, 5-1 PacWest) to a 76-75 victory over Chaminade (5-10, 1-6 PacWest).

"That one was kind of make something happen and all glory to God, it went in." commented Esparza after the game.



The Eagles extended their winning streak to six on Monday night with the late-game heroics from Esparza. The electric finish was familiar for Biola, as the team was fresh off a game-winner on Saturday night from Nathan Medina.

Esparza capitalized thanks to a comeback effort from the BU squad. 

"We kind of came out flat and our effort was not there from the start," said Esparza. "Coach (Holmquist) got on us in the locker room and I feel like we did a good job responding."

BU trailed for nearly 35 minutes of the game and besides scoring the first points of the contest, did not have a lead until the the 3:18 mark in the second half. Biola fell behind by 13 in the first half and 12 in the second but never gave in.

The big push for the Eagles came in the form of a 13-3 run near the halfway point of the second half. Tyus Parrish-Tillman dominated in the lane and grabbed back-to-back layups to cut into the deficit, before tying the game at 66 with a pair of free throws.

The game would go back and forth from there but CUH seemed to find the winning push with a three-point lead with 21 seconds to go. 

As the time ticked away, Biola decided to go for a quick two instead of a three to tie and Esparza found the net. With the Eagles still trailing by one, the Silverswords' inbound was mishandled and BU was given new life with eight seconds to go. Esparza was the only one to touch the ball on the next possession. He drove towards the hoop with no hesitation and netted a tough runner to take the lead at 76-75. Chaminade had enough time to attempt a three-pointer at the buzzer but was off the mark.

Esparza capped off the night as Biola's leading scorer with 16 points and was followed closely by Medina at 15, Maximo Milovich at 15 and Casey Cappo at 14.

Milovich was huge in the comeback effort, hitting two crucial three-pointers late on Monday. The big man also cruised to his fourth double-double of the season, collecting 16 rebounds to go with his 15 points.

Facundo Aranda offered impressive minutes off the bench, totaling 10 points on 80.0 shooting from the floor with four boards and two assists.

Biola men's basketball will be back at home on Friday, taking on Fresno Pacific at 7:30 pm.
 
Gallery: (1-1-2024) MBB vs Chaminade
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