St. Joseph’s (Maine) Upsets Biola in NAIA Tournament

Guard David Chadbourne scored 25 points, including three three-point baskets, as St. Joseph’s of North Windham, Me., upset Biola of La Mirada, 78-66, Thursday in the opening round of the NAIA basketball tournament.

Biola, the third-seeded team, hadn’t lost since Jan. 9. The Eagles (29-2) had won 16 straight.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph’s (26-5) became the first Maine school ever to win a game in the 50-year history of the NAIA tournament.

St. Joseph’s also gave NAIA District 5 its first victory since the district was restructured in 1975 to include all the New England schools--in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The District 5 representative had been eliminated in the first round in each of the last 12 NAIA tournaments.

“Usually you can look back at four or five things that hurt you in a game,” Biola co-coach David Holmquist said. “But I can think of about two dozen things in this game. I never had the feeling we were playing the kind of ball we played all year to get here. We didn’t do anything well.

“We had a great season--but this was not a very nice way to end it. We didn’t have it today and I don’t know why.”

Chadbourne scored eight points, including two of his three-pointers, in the final five minutes of the first half to help boost St. Joseph’s from a seven-point advantage to a 38-22 halftime lead.

But Biola used a full-court press and the inside scoring of Johnnie Griffin and Ellis Yarrell to scramble back to within four points, 64-60, with 1:59 remaining.

St. Joseph’s then sank 12 of 13 free throws, 6 by Chadbourne, to put the game out of reach.

Griffin scored 24 points and Yarrell 15 for Biola. But the Eagles shot only 44%, well below their season average of 54%.