LA MIRADA, Calif. --- In a fervent clash at Chase Gymnasium, men's basketball was capsized late in a 74-71 decision against Biola on Saturday night. The Blue and Gold's longstanding leads across both halves saw them up five (71-66) with 3:21 left, but unfortunately, the Lions could not make a basket in the final minutes of play. VU was also outshined by a 22-14 BU lead in second-chance points and a 35-14 advantage for the Eagles in free-throw attempts.

VU's near upset over the second-best team in the Pacific West Conference puts them at 11-11 overall, 5-11 in the league. The Lions have now lost seven in a row, with the last three coming down to single digits. BU (20-6,14-4) continue their conference-best win streak of nine games, as they secure a spot in the PacWest postseason tournament in early March.

Leonard Turner notched his first double-double as a Lion with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Anthony Tello made his mark with 17 points on 50% shooting (6-12) and a perfect 4-4 mark from the line. Chris Chiles ended with 10 points in the defeat, while Jackson Larsen earned seven points and nine rebounds.  Two Eagles had 20+ points, with Erik Howlin scoring 22 and Davian Brown finishing with 21. Howlin's season-high was also paired with six rebounds, three blocks, and three steals, as the redshirt junior won the game late with a key defensive play and clinching free throws.

VU held Biola to 32.1% (18-for-56) shooting overall and a 25% field goal percentage (6-of-24) in the second half. The Lions, however, did struggle from beyond the arc, going 6-for-24 and hitting just one of their final 10 efforts from deep.

What Happened? The opening phase of the game was the Turner and Howlin show, as the pair dueled to combine for 18 of the first 22 total points between both teams. Turner produced 10 of the first 14 VU points to put the Lions up 14-6. Howlin finished a layup in the lane to have all eight Eagle points for a 14-8 scoreline just short of five minutes in. The Blue and Gold played quickly to run up the score, with Chiles sinking a three-ball in transition and scoring off a Jadyn Johnson dime to earn VU a 21-10 advantage. After Aibigho Ujadughele's layup on the following possession near the 14-minute mark, the Eagles got rolling, pushing a 14-4 run to scrape the Vanguard lead down to one (25-24) with 9:48 remaining in the half.

Devin Carson made his move on the break, firing a trey in transition and another from the corner to crank the lead up to seven (31-24) with 8:22 to go in the half. The Lions seemed to steady the ship with buckets from Turner, Bryson Metz, and a Chiles pullup jumper to stay in front 38-29. BU, however, could not be restrained, as they sparked a red-hot 14-2 run, hitting three straight triples to hold a 43-40 lead at the halftime break. VU shot 45.7% (16-35) in the first half and 35.7% (5-14) from three-point range. Biola made 37.5% (12-32) of their attempts and hit two more three-pointers (7-15).

The Blue and Gold, who went on to win the points in the paint battle 38-16 in the match, slowed the game down in the final 20 minutes, attacking inside to build their way back into the fray. Larsen's scrappy putback tip to start the second half set the tone for the final phase of basketball inside Chase Gymnasium. After a two-minute scoring drought for either side, Turner muscled his way to the rim to mold a three-point play and tie the game at 47-47. Tello gave the Lions their first lead (49-47) of the second half on an up-and-under drive to toss in an athletic reverse layup. A minute later, he went to the free throw to set VU in an early bonus with 13:36 left.

Turner and Larsen snared strong blocks and Johnson took a charge to help stall BU and squeeze the Eagles into a three-minute scoring drought. Biola crept back after VU ran into a slew of foul problems with under six to go, with Ujadughele, Larsen, and Turner each picking up four fouls. BU, who scored 17 of their 31 second-half points at the free-throw, continued to hunt at the charity stripe to slim the VU edge to 67-64 with 5:11 to go. The Lions answered with two floaters through Tello and Bryson Metz to lead 71-66 with 3:21 left to play.

Brown hit his fifth three-pointer to make it a one-point game (71-70) VU and the Eagles then smothered a loose ball and called a timeout to hold the rock with 51 seconds to go. An Biola hook at the block flipped the score to 72-71 in favor of BU with 30.6 seconds remaining. VU's crucial possession in crunch time was tied up on a jump ball won by Howlin, who hit two free throws on the other end to finish the match.

What's Next? Men's basketball heads to Santa Barbara to take on Westmont on Wednesday, February 19, at 7:30 pm.