LA MIRADA, Calif. -- Even after five years apart, victory tastes just as sweet and defeat as bitter as ever in Azusa Pacific's rivalry with Biola as the Cougars found out firsthand in a 73-70 loss to the Eagles before a capacity crowd of 2,400 in Chase Gymnasium.
The Cougars now wrap up the first year of the renewed Cornerstone Cup rivalry with memories of both results. Four weeks ago, Azusa Pacific pulled away at the end for a six-point win over Biola as the teams split the season series in the first Pacific West Conference chapter of the historic rivalry.
"I'm so grateful for the opportunity to play against Biola again, because its's a great opportunity to play in an energetic environment with two student bodies who really care about supporting their teams," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "That's something I hope no player ever takes for granted. This is something special we have between these two schools, so to be able to come out and compete in this environment is something special."
On paper, Azusa Pacific was the overwhelming favorite to complete the season series sweep, as the Cougars entered the contest just a game off the PacWest lead while Biola lost its first 10 conference games. In fact, the Eagles had only beaten one team with a winning record all year and had picked up its first win over a Division II foe just nine days earlier at Holy Names.
However, in reality, there was very little separating the teams Saturday night in La Mirada until Blake Shannon Jr. stole the spotlight by hitting the game-winning three-pointer with 4.5 seconds left to break a 70-70 tie. Shannon Jr. led the Eagles with 21 points, scoring all of his points from beyond the arc with a 7-for-12 three-point shooting performance.
The Cougars turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play, and the Eagles ran out the closing seconds to send its home crowd into a frenzy to celebrate Biola's first win at home over Azusa Pacific since 2012.
What It Means: For Azusa Pacific, the importance of a strong finish is multiplied as the Cougars dropped from second place in the PacWest to a tie for third with Point Loma heading into the final five games of the regular season. As for Biola, the victory serves as a momentum-building signature win during the Eagles' multi-year transition to NCAA Division II membership. Biola is in the first of two years as a provisional member of Division II, becoming eligible for NCAA postseason play in the 2019-20 school year.
How It Happened: In an otherwise even game statistically, Biola dominated the boards to the tune of a 40-27 rebounding margin, which led to a 17-9 margin in second chance points for the Eagles. Although Azusa Pacific shut down Biola's leading scorer Trevor Treinen, who scored 32 points in the first matchup between the teams this season, limiting him to 8 points on 3-for-11 shooting. However, Shannon hit 7-of-12 from long range to account for all of his 21 points as he led the Eagles to the win.
Turning Point: Biola led by as many as 12 points in the second half and held a 60-49 edge with 8:56 remaining before Mandrell Worthy drained a three to spark a 12-2 run that pulled the Cougars within a point, 62-61, with 5:23 remaining in the game. Shannon Jr. provided an answering trey, keeping Biola in the lead until Corey Langerveld's corner three with 1:46 left lifted Azusa Pacific into the lead, 70-69. Treinen made one-of-two free throws after he drew the fifth foul on Selom Mawugbe with 1:01 to play, tying the game at 70-70 for the thrilling final minute. Alex Talma picked up a steal on the next Cougar possession, setting up the go-ahead opportunity for Shannon Jr., who nailed the three-pointer with 4.5 seconds to play.
Azusa Pacific Standouts: Worthy made 9-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-7 three-pointers, as he produced a career-high 23 points to surpass his previous best of 21 points, which came in the first Biola meeting this year. He scored 13 of his 23 in the first half, helping keep Azusa Pacific within striking distance. Three others finished in double figures, with Darien McClain scoring 13 while Langerveld and Petar Kutlesic and Langerveld finished with 12 points each. Mawugbe tallied three blocked shots, despite being limited to just 17 minutes of action due to foul trouble.
Biola Standouts: Shannon Jr. scored a team-high 21 points, but his performance was supplemented by Alex Talma's 19-point, 10-rebound effort down low. Christian Carroll added 13 points off the bench for the Eagles.
Quotable: "Biola plays a slow and deliberate style of game which requires a great amount of energy and focus in order to fight through. I've said many times that we're a team capable of making other teams miss shots, but tonight they put us to sleep and sapped our defensive energy. We consistently made mistakes which led to quality looks for them, and I give them credit for making them, especially in the second half. We wanted to take the perimeter shot away from Treinen, but I can guarantee you that the scouting report also said to take away the three from Shannon Jr., as well. We just didn't do it. They're a tough team to play against, and we played their game tonight. I give them a lot of credit for dictating the terms and the tempo of the game." - Head Coach Justin Leslie
"We knew they would play better at home and come out with more energy with their fans behind them, and they made adjustments this time. They got a quick lead on us and kept it pretty much the whole game. We have to improve on all the little things. We got beat on offensive rebounds, and we just have to lock in and hold each other accountable and move on to the next game. – sophomore guard Mandrell Worthy
"This rivalry means a lot, and it turned the tables on our season. Biola's energy tonight was unreal, and we came out really flat. We just didn't execute what we practiced throughout the week. There's no time for excuses for us at this point; we have to speak with our actions and put it into our play." – junior guard Darien McLain
By The Numbers: Biola finished the first half on a 7-0 run to take an 8-point halftime edge (36-28)… Worthy, who led all first-half scorers with 13 of his career-high 23 points, scored Azusa Pacific's final five points of the first half, and no other Cougar scored in the final seven minutes of the half… Worthy also led the Cougars in scoring (21 points) in the season's first meeting with Biola… Both teams shot just over 45 percent from the field, and both hit exactly 11 three-pointers… Biola committed 11 turnovers to the Cougars' 10, and both teams collected three steals.
