Box Score
By Jordan Wyatt January 14, 2014  
However, Chase Gym was particularly kind to the home team. Biola's Pierre Zook (27 points, 2 rebounds) drilled seven three-point buckets to champion the Eagles (11-6, 1-0 GSAC) to a 74-66 victory over the Warriors on opening night of Golden State Athletic Conference play. Halfway through the first half, Westmont led by a score of 18-17. Then, unfortunately for the Warriors, the shots stopped falling. Over the next seven minutes, Biola mounted an 11 to two run, propelling them into halftime, where they led 29-25. The Eagles would push their advantage to nine just five minutes into the second period. Nevertheless, the Warriors would not go down easily, summoning a 15 to four run of their own as they retook the lead 44-42 with 11:47 remaining in the contest.
Then, at the most inopportune time for the Warriors, Zook began to heat up again, knocking down four key second half baskets to swing momentum back in favor of the Eagles. To make matters worse, Westmont went on a cold streak, finishing with a total shooting percentage of 36.8 (21-of-57, 7-of-22 from three) and a cumulative free throw percentage of 58.6 (17-of-29). "I thought the key moment of the game was when we took the lead in the middle of the second half," stated Westmont head coach John Moore. "It looked as though we had the game back in our grasp at that point. However, (Zook) had the game of his life so to speak. He made some shots that were hard to believe went in."
Overall, the Warriors would procure more bench points (28 to six), assists (eight to six), steals (seven to three), blocks (three to zero), and turn the ball over fewer times (eight to 11) than the Eagles. Nonetheless, the superb shooting of Zook and teammate Dakari Archer (16 points) commanded Biola to a 48 percent field goal percentage (24-of-50), including a 50 percent effort (8-of-16) from beyond the arc. Westmont was also outre bounded for the first time on the season, 33 to 36. "We didn't get our posts going like we have all season," commented Moore. "This contributed to a lack of points and fewer rebounds. We didn't defend the three-point line well either, which was a crucial component of our defeat tonight. It will be important to improve in both of these categories as we next encounter a team that's very good from distance and compete in a gym that is difficult to play in. "Even with the defeat tonight, it was nice to have some of our regular contributors back," added an optimistic Moore. "Brendan came back from his absence nicely.
Additionally, I'm looking forward to Billy Keller and Jason Ritchey being able to log more minutes in our upcoming games. It will be nice to utilize an extended lineup again." Now in the hole to start GSAC play, the Warriors will again hit the road on Saturday as they travel to El Cajon to battle the San Diego Christian (4-6, 0-1 GSAC). That game has a tipoff time of 7:30 p.m.