Concordia Pulls Away in the Late Going to Defeat Biola
The last time Biola played Concordia in a Golden State Athletic Conference women’s basketball game, Biola stopped a 12-game Concordia winning streak.
Tuesday, Concordia made sure it didn’t happen again, pulling away in the late going to win its seventh consecutive game, 83-72, at Concordia.
Concordia (19-6, 6-2 in the conference) moved into a tie for first with Fresno Pacific (15-9, 6-2). Biola is 12-10, 5-2.
“They beat us at their place on Jan. 12,” Concordia Coach Dave Wolter said. “We feel that we have improved since then and this was our chance for a report card.”
The grade was passing. Concordia moved the ball around well, often finding open players for easy shots. Point guard Melissa Ridge had eight assists. Freshman Jaime Gast had a season-high 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Angela Sather also had 25 points.
Biola led only three times by one point, during one stretch midway through the second half, and cut the deficit to one, 69-68, with 4 minutes 55 minutes left, but Concordia scored the next six points to start a final 14-4 run.
In Golden State Athletic Conference men’s basketball:
Westmont 78, Southern California College 71--SCC’s tiny home gymnasium, “The Pit” in the Vanguards’ vernacular, is one of the toughest places in the conference for a visitor to win, but the Warriors did it for the third consecutive season.
The last two seasons SCC was struggling. However, this time the game meant more, the winner would remain tied for first with Azusa Pacific (20-5, 7-2).
The Vanguards (15-9, 6-3) came out flat, trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, before closing to five points down at the break. “We played about as bad emotionally as we could play in the first half,” SCC Coach Bill Reynolds said.
SCC showed more fire in the second half, especially late when Kevin Carlson made consecutive three-pointers with 41 and 28 seconds left, to pull the Vanguards within three, 72-69. But Westmont (15-8, 7-2) made six of six free down the stretch. The Warriors made their final 11 free throws.
Biola 77, Concordia 64--Concordia fell behind by 11 at the half and could not catch up. Pharoah Jones scored 24 points for Concordia (16-8, 5-4), which was playing without standout forward Jeff Putnam, who fractured a bone in his elbow Saturday.
In nonconference men’s play:
Chapman 87, La Sierra 58--After leading by 13 at the half, Chapman (13-9) extended the lead and emptied the bench. Toby Curto had 14 points for the Panthers.
In nonconference women’s play:
Chapman 89, Whittier 73--Faye Cruz scored 21 points and Monique Sweet had 16 for Chapman (11-8).
In nonconference baseball:
La Verne 6, Chapman 0--Jeff Doen pitched a one-hitter for La Verne (1-1). Chapman’s Don Disbro singled with one out in the seventh.
Long Beach State 21, Loyola Marymount 8--The 49ers (1-2) hit five home runs and four triples and led, 12-2, after three innings.