LA MIRADA, Calif. — A historic night continued a remarkable run of form for Biola senior Daniel Esparza. The Eagles' guard set a new career-high in scoring with 39 points, topping his previous best of 29 set back in 2022-23. He made 13 of 18 shots from the floor, including a career-best eight three pointers.
His scoring output charged up his Biola Eagles en route to a dominant victory over the scuffling Chaminade Silverswords. After going to overtime at Chaminade just two weeks ago, Biola drubbed the visitors on Thursday night to the tune of a 92-72 victory.
"I give all glory to Jesus Christ," said Esparza. "Ups, downs, good or bad, man, Jesus is always there. This is a night I'll remember for a long time."
The 20-point win is Biola's largest margin of victory in a PacWest Conference competition yet this year, and it locks up a seventh league win for BU. The 92 points scored is the most the Eagles have scored in a conference game since they dropped 96 on Academy of Art to win by three back in December 2023.
For Esparza, this output tops his season scoring average by 18 points. But, more importantly, it continues a massive upswing in scoring he's experienced in the past few times out. He's scored in double figures in seven straight games, and with the 39 tonight is averaging 24+ points per game in his last four outings.
Chaminade was 11-3 entering its matchup with BU on the island two weeks back. The Eagles' overtime win, powered by a huge Casey Cappo performance, set the 'Swords on a streak where they've now lost four of their previous five games. This is helping the Biola playoff picture in big ways.
Tonight's contest was far from needing overtime as Biola held serve from the tip-off all the way through the final buzzer. Biola began the game with a 7-0 lead after holding Chaminde off the board for nearly four full minutes. The Silverswords would get back within one when they brought the game to 15-14, but a 10-point Biola streak right after that put the 'Swords hopes on ice.
The Eagles' got the biggest boost from Esparza, who had 23 second-half points to lock in the win. But, they also saw some great contributions from Cappo (14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Davian Brown (13 points, 5-7 FT). Biola controlled the game by controlling the glass, working a 45-38 rebounding advantage while also shooting nearly 10 percent better than their opponent.
"Stay in the gym, be a gym rat. Don't let this time go to waste," said Esparza. "Be a gym rat, be a good teammate and love the Lord - that's all I got to say."
Along with Cappo, Esparza, Facundo Aranda and Garrison Sherman all tied for the team lead with seven rebounds. Sherman's boards came in an active 12 minutes on the floor.
The win moves Biola to 13-6 overall and 7-4 in league play. The 7-4 mark has Biola on the doorstep for second place in the league, sitting behind a pair of 6-3 teams in Academy of Art and Hawaii Hilo.
Up next for Dr. Dave Holmquist's bunch is a battle with Hawaii Pacific on Saturday at Chase Gym. The Eagles have not met HPU yet this year. The Sharks sit at 9-9 (4-5 PacWest) and are coming off a 72-70 win at Westmont tonight.
