A Weakley Bomb Erases a Cougar Comeback

AZUSA, Calif. – Bryan Weakley's 3-point bomb from 21-feet out with 11 seconds left lifted the NAIA's No. 2-ranked Biola to a 61-60 victory over No. 8 Azusa Pacific and added another classic tale to what has to be one of best current small-college rivalries in the nation.

Played in front of a crowd of 2,927, the largest ever to watch a Golden State Athletic Conference contest, the game featured just 5 lead changes, but 4 of them came in the final 93 seconds.

Biola appeared to be headed toward a blowout when the Eagles built a 21-point lead at 52-31 with 12 minutes left in the game.  However, behind the 3-point shooting of Brett Michel and Anthony Haggins the Cougars amazingly erased the entire deficit, going on a 26-4 run in 11 minutes to assume a 57-56 lead on a Haggins 3-pointer from the wing with 1:33 to play, the Cougars' first lead since opening the game at 2-0.  Biola's Kevin Augustine then missed a jumper, giving the Cougars the ball and lead with 1:14 left.  However, Azusa Pacific's Caleb Gervin was whistled for a 10-second call as he brought  the ball back up court, allowing Biola to answer, which it did on a Nate Strong floating jumper in the key with 53 seconds remaining.

Michel then rained a 3-ball, his fourth of the second half, to put the Cougars back up at 60-58 with 39 seconds left, setting up Weakley's game-winning attempt.  The Cougars had one last chance, but Gervin was dropped to the floor on a driving lay-up at the buzzer and his shot never hit the rim.

"I thought I was fouled, but the official didn't, so it wasn't a foul," said Gervin.

Strong led all players with 20 points, including 11 in the second half, when he almost single-handedly turned a 9-point Biola lead into a monstrous 21-point cushion by nailing a trio of 3-point shots in the first 3 minutes of the second half.  Weakley finished with 16.

Azusa Pacific shot an abysmal 23% (7-for-30) in the first half and was down by as much as 15 before settling for a 32-23 halftime hole.  Michel, who a year ago was third in the NAIA in 3-point shooting, hadn't made a 3-pointer in the past 4 games, missing 11 straight to drop his season 3-point shooting percentage to just 23%.  Tonight, however, he found his touch, burying 4 straight in the second half to finish with a season-high 14 points.  Steve McIlwain led all Cougars with 15 points but did not play the final 10 minutes after taking an elbow to the head that blurred his vision the rest of the game.

"I'm not surprised by the comeback," said Bill Odell.  "That's the type of guys we have on this team.  It was just another great game in a long line of great games in this series."

The loss snaps Azusa Pacific's 20-game home court winning streak.  The Cougars fall to 20-5 overall, 12-4 in the GSAC, while Biola improves to 24-2 overall, 15-2 in the GSAC, and for all intents and purposes should have wrapped up its first-ever GSAC championship in men's basketball.  The Eagles lead both Azusa Pacific and Westmont by 2 games with 4 to play.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Caleb Gervin: G; 6' 1"; Junior

#11 Steve McIlwain: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#24 Anthony Haggins: F-G; 6' 4"; Senior

#32 Brett Michel: F; 6' 7"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#4 Caleb Gervin
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

#11 Steve McIlwain
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#24 Anthony Haggins
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F-G

#32 Brett Michel
: 6' 7"; Sophomore
: F