GOLDEN, Colo. -- With its first appearance in the NCAA Division II West Regional semifinal in program history, the Biola Eagles Men’s Basketball team ran into the No. 3 team in the country in scoring defense. Host Colorado School of Mines, seeded second in the regional bracket, held the No. 3 seed Eagles to their lowest scoring output of the season, in an 83-52 defeat Saturday night at Lockridge Arena.
Biola, which finishes the season with a 10-4 record and had been averaging 77.3 points per game, ran into its toughest opponent to date in this abbreviated season. The Orediggers now advance to their second regional final in school history, which will be played Monday night against No. 5 seed Northwest Nazarene (13-4), a 74-54 winner over No. 1 seed Colorado Mesa (21-2).
“It was a great year for us,” Biola coach Dave Holmquist said. “All of the close games that we were in we won. We were in the strongest pod in the conference with the top-four rated teams in the preseason poll. For us to win the pod was an achievement. It was a real nice team to work with. With the way things worked out, despite the way that everything happened with Covid, it was a real enjoyable year.”
In the first meeting of the two schools, Mines junior guard Ben Boone led all scorers with 19 points. Two other players were in double figures for the Orediggers, senior guard Kobi Betts (14 points) and senior forward Titus Reed (11).
Leading the way for Biola was senior forward Michael Bagatourian with 16 points.
“I’m just so proud of everyone on this team,” Bagatourian said. "There’s so much that we had to go through with this Covid stuff. We fought every single day during the season. I think we exceeded a lot of people’s expectations. We got here (Regionals), but we have a lot of work to do. Everyone is coming back and that’s what we’re already talking about.”
Also in double figures for the Eagles was senior guard Chris Rossow and freshman center Max Milovich with 11 and 10 points, respectively. This matchup was the third time this season that Biola faced a team ranked inside the top-10 in NCAA Division II.
By the halfway mark of the first half, the Orediggers had built up a 10-point, 20-10, lead and Biola could never recover. The Mines defense suffocated the Eagles throughout the game, as leading scorer for the season, Alex Wright, was held scoreless in the game. Bagatourian summed up the game and the high level that Mines is at.
“They’re one of the best teams I’ve played since I’ve been in college,” he said. “They’re really good, really solid. They don’t make any mistakes on offense or defense. We had to play an A-plus game, and we didn’t, and it showed. That’s what we have to get better at. We have to make sure every game we play is up to that standard. The standard now is to win regional titles.”
By the half, the Orediggers held a 19-point advantage, 45-26. The Eagles equaled their output from the first half of 26 points, while Mines continued its hot shooting (57 percent for the game) in the second half with 38 points.
“They are a very good team,” Holmquist said. “We played hard and they are just a better team. They got away from us. They are one of the best teams in the country and we aspire to get to that level.”
Highlighting the season for the Eagles were two defeats of conference rival Point Loma, who remained ranked in the top 25 throughout the season. Perhaps the biggest highlight was getting longtime coach, Dave Holmquist, his 1,000th win to join an elite list of only five coaches in the history of all men’s teams in the country.
“It was a really nice group to do it with,” added Holmquist. “And because of Covid, it made it more than just a team thing. It was just nice to share it with this team.”