An Elimination Game to Remember for Biola

When you spend 20 years as a basketball coach, you figure you’ve seen just about everything.

You’ve seen countless tight games and last-second game-winning shots. Miracle moves and big upsets.

Just when you think you’ve seen everything. . . .

“Oh, I’ve never had anything like that happen,” Biola Coach Dave Holmquist said of the Eagles’ 118-108 four-overtime loss to Georgetown (Ky.) in the national semifinals of the NAIA tournament last week in Tulsa, Okla.

It was the second-longest game in the 63-year history of the tournament. As expected, there was no shortage of thrills.

Biola, in its second trip to the national semifinals under Holmquist, rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to lead by two with four seconds left before Georgetown tied it. Then Biola seemed to have Georgetown put away in each of the first three overtimes only to see late shots keep the Eagles from their first NAIA championship game in 18 years.

Holmquist might want to erase the names of Rick Ward, Todd Cox and Mark Williams from his memory bank. Ward tied the score with four seconds left in regulation. Williams made a key three-pointer to help force the second overtime and banked in a three-pointer with two seconds left to send the game to a fourth overtime.

Cox made two free throws near the end of the second and third overtimes to help Georgetown stave off elimination.

It was the desperation three-pointer by Williams that seemed to take the spirit out of Biola. Georgetown outscored the Eagles, 18-8, in the final overtime to advance to the finals, where it lost to Life University (Ga.) on Monday.

“He missed it so badly that it went in,” Holmquist said with a chuckle. “I had mixed feelings that night and the next day. I couldn’t help but think that we should have been playing [for the championship].”

The loss culminated a wild three-day ride through the tournament. Biola needed to rally from double-digit deficits to beat Lambuth (Tenn.) in the second round and second-seeded Lipscomb in the quarterfinals.

Holmquist said it was a microcosm of a 28-8 season in which the Eagles routinely extricated themselves from dire situations.

“Relentless,” he said. “Throughout the season, this team had a will to win. They wanted to excel. I don’t think I’ve had a team quite like this one.”

Biola’s Marcus White, a senior, was selected the tournament’s most competitive player. Against Georgetown, White, an All-Golden State Athletic Conference guard, played 58 of the game’s 60 minutes and scored 35 points.

Holmquist could find only a little solace in that his team played its best basketball at the end of the season.

“When I was 30 years old and we got to the title game in my second year [in 1982], I figured that we’ll be back in it a few times,” said Holmquist. “What you don’t realize is how hard it is to get to that point.

“I know that it’s not easy.”

The longest NAIA tournament game was in 1978 when Grand Canyon needed five overtimes to defeat Central State of Ohio, 88-82, in the quarterfinals.

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Lauri McIntosh of Cal Poly Pomona was recently named to the NCAA Division II All-American first team after leading the Broncos to a 26-3 season and a berth in the West Region finals. She is the 13th--and youngest--Pomona player to be named a women’s basketball first-team All-American.

McIntosh, a 19-year-old sophomore, was one of the top offensive players in the nation, averaging 19.8 points and seven rebounds. She also made 52% of her field-goal tries.

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Cal State Los Angeles’ Mike Burns pitched the school’s second no-hitter in 38 years in a 7-0 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills last week in Carson. Burns, 3-2 with a 2.64 earned-run average, did not walk a batter and struck out five. An Eagle error in the fourth inning spoiled a chance at a perfect game. Cal State L.A.’s Steve Brown--now in the Houston Astro system--pitched a no-hitter against Cal State Stanislaus last year. That was the first for the school since 1962. . . . Cal State L.A.’s Quincy Stinson, a junior guard, was named to the All-West District basketball team for the second straight season. He averaged 15.1 points and had 59 steals in leading the Golden Eagles to a 19-9 record and a NCAA West Region playoff berth. . . . Freshman guard Allison Box of Azusa Pacific and senior forward Jamie Gast of Concordia were named to the NAIA Division I All-American third team. . . . Cal State Bakersfield hurdler Tina Watkins ran the fastest Division II time of the year in the 100-meter hurdles, 14.27 seconds, at the Northridge Invitational last week. . . . Karen Miller recently stepped down as Cal Poly Pomona athletic director after 18 years.

UNIVERSITY DIVISION

The women’s golf team at Pepperdine, ranked eighth in the nation, defeated runner-up Oklahoma State by 15 strokes to win the UCLA Pioneer Electronics Bruin Classic at Menifee Lakes Country Club in Temecula.

Wave freshman Lindsey Wright took medalist honors with a one-over-par 217. UCLA junior Leilani Bagby finished in a tie for second with Mimi Pope of Texas A&M; to lead the Bruins to a third-place finish. Pepperdine’s Tamie Durdin, ranked No. 3 in the country, finished in a tie for fourth.

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Long Beach State’s softball team upset No. 1 Washington, 1-0, in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Pinch-runner Natalie Bonillas scored the winning run in the 10th inning on a wild pitch by reliever Jennifer Spediacci. The Huskies had won 26 of their previous 27 games. Long Beach, ranked 19th, is 24-11. . . . USC’s Cromwell Field will be the site of one of the season’s top dual meets Saturday when the Trojans host Louisiana State, North Carolina and Nebraska. USC’s Angela Williams, who has focused mostly on the 200 this season, may run the 100. She is the defending NCAA champion in that event. . . . No. 1-ranked Long Beach State defeated No. 3-ranked USC, 15-9, 17-16, 15-4, in a key Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men’s volleyball match Saturday.