Box Score
After trailing 35-26 at halftime, Westmont Men's Basketball rallied to claim a 71-67 win over the #16 Eagles of Biola in Murchison Gymnasium. Sophomore guard Preston Branson led the Warriors with 25 points and senior forward Blake Bender recorded his tenth double-double of the season (13 points, 12 rebounds) to lead the Warriors to victory.

"We were down at their place (in November) by seven points (at halftime) and we kind of folded in the second half," said Branson. "We knew that if we didn't come out aggressive and play our game we probably were going to lose it. But we didn't. We fought hard and came out with a win. It felt like we were getting the guy's open shots. We hit the open man and played unselfish tonight." With the win, Westmont improves to 15-5 overall and 7-4 in Golden State Athletic Conference action. Biola falls to 18-3 overall and 8-3 in conference play.

The second half did not start off well for the Warriors with Curtis Eatmon (10 points, 3 rebounds) nailing a three-point shot just eight seconds in. Five minutes into the second half, Biola still enjoyed an 11-point advantage (46-35). A traditional three-point play by Branson started the momentum moving in favor of the Warriors. Blake Bender cut Biola's lead to five (46-41) with another and-one play with 14:16 to play. Six seconds later, Biola head coach Dave Holmquist called a time-out. During the timeout, and after the sounds of the chicken dance had died out, an unusual chant began to emerge from the student side of the gymnasium. DOC-TOR-BEE-BE, DOC-TOR-BEE-BE, DOC-TOR-BEE-BE. The chanting continued until Westmont President Dr. Gayle Beebe rose to his feet. At that point, the chants turned into loud applause and cheering. The President urged those around him to join him in standing, and from that point on there was little sitting in Murchison. By the time the teams took to the floor again, the volume level in support of the Warriors had dramatically increased.

"It's always great playing in front of a good home crowd," said Branson of the fan support. It was not until 10:16 showed on the clock, that Niko Brooks (7 points, 3 rebounds) nailed a three-pointer to pull Westmont to within one (51-50). Biola's Josh Miller (10 points, 6 rebounds) answered with a trey on the Eagles' end before Brooks struck again from beyond the arc making it a 54-53 in favor of the Warriors with 8:06 to play in regulation. With 7:20 showing on the second-half clock, the Warriors finally took the lead on a jumper by Branson. Over the next three and one-half minutes, the two teams stayed within two points of each other. However, the Warriors did not trail again. With just under four minutes to play, Jordan Sachs (4 points) scored on a layup to give Westmont a four-point margin. Nate Rakestraw (17 points, 7 rebounds) nailed two free throws to make it a two-point game, but Branson scored again - this time on a jumper with just under two minutes left - giving Westmont a 65-61 lead. Thirty seeks later, Bender made one of two free throw attempts, giving the Warriors a 66-61 lead.

However, Miller scored from a three-point territory with 49 seconds left, pulling the Eagles to within two points (67-64). Branson increased the lead with a couple of free throws, but once more, Biola responded with a three-pointer, this time by Eatmon, reducing the Warrior's lead to just one point (68-67) with 29 seconds to go. With 20 seconds to play, Brooks was sent to the free throw line where he converted one of two attempts, stretching the margin to two. Biola brought the ball up the court and David Cline (4 points, 5 rebounds) attempted a layup from the right side which looked to be a sure thing. But the ball bounced off the rim and was gathered up by Westmont's CJ Miller (3 points, 4 rebounds). Four seconds later, Branson fouled again. He stepped up to the charity strike and sank both attempts, accounting for the final score. Branson made all eleven of his free throw attempts throughout the game. The win gives the Warriors sole position of fourth place in the GSAC standings and should produce more votes for the Warriors in the national coaches poll.

"One of our goals is to get to Kansas City," said Branson, referring to the site of the NAIA National Championship. "We knew we would have to do better than 6-4 in the first round of conference. I feel like we are one step already in the right direction." The Warriors will resume their quest for a berth in the 2011 National Tournament by traveling to San Diego on Saturday for a date with the Sea Lions of Point Loma Nazarene (10-10, 6-5 GSAC). [box score]