Biola Makes Greater Strides in Basketball

Biola Coach Dave Holmquist, who has presided over men’s basketball at the small Christian school for 21 years, said he may be more proud of his current team than any he has coached.

That is saying something, considering Holmquist has won 573 games and built the Eagles into a basketball power. This also could be one of his best teams.

Despite losing six seniors who powered the Eagles to the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics national semifinals, Biola is again a title contender with a No. 2 national ranking and a 13-1 record.

What makes Holmquist so happy? The simple things impress him, like his players doing what is asked of them on and off the court, and his team being ready to practice every day and giving maximum effort in each game.

“We just talked about it the other day,” said Holmquist, a Biola graduate. “It’s all about working hard every day and enjoying the process. If we have a really good work ethic, the results will work out for themselves.

“I can honestly say there hasn’t been one day where we have not been ready to work. That’s rare.”

Biola is coming off an emotional week of basketball. The Eagles beat their two biggest rivals, Westmont and Azusa Pacific, a week ago to improve to 12-0.

But the exhilaration from those victories was muted when Christian Heritage went to Biola and left with a 78-66 victory. Biola shook that off Tuesday night with a 96-74 victory over Concordia of Irvine.

Were the Eagles spent from the wins over Westmont and Azusa?

“Christian Heritage is a good team,” Holmquist said. “I think we were ready. We didn’t shoot the ball well. We didn’t play particularly well. “I don’t know what it was. We just had a tough week with three good teams. Also, Christian Heritage was coming off a tough loss at Point Loma [Nazarene].”

The loss took the luster off the win at Azusa Pacific. Before 2,407 at Azusa’s new 3,500-seat Felix Event Center, the Eagles got strong games from several players, particularly Nate Strong, to beat the 10th-ranked Cougars, 78-67.

It was Strong who scored 13 points in the final four minutes to help clinch the victory.

That the game was decided in the final minutes isn’t surprising. The two teams are longtime NAIA powers and their matchups have always produced big crowds.

Holmquist said it is a special rivalry.

“I think it’s because a lot of people know each other from both schools,” he said. “You may have a brother that goes to one and a sister that goes to the other. The students all know each other and they come out for the game.

“It’s a pretty intense rivalry, but for the most part it’s done in a healthy way.”

Biola has players from all over the nation and overseas, including Canada, Mexico and Nigeria as well as Ohio, Alaska, Idaho and Washington.

It is something different for a program that usually had local players. Yet Holmquist says that only freshman forward Abiodun Medupin has had to make a major adjustment to living in the Southland.

“Abi is really the only one that comes from a different culture,” he said. “But the rest of the kids have really welcomed him to the team and made him feel comfortable. They all get along great.”

It is the community-type feel of the school that Holmquist credits with attracting players who either aren’t quite Division I-caliber or who, like Utah State transfer Rashaun Thomas, want another chance to jump-start college careers.

Holmquist said former players are often his best recruiters.

“I don’t think there is a player I’ve had who said he didn’t enjoy going to school here,” he said. “Here, you have people who take an interest in their lives beyond basketball. Even if the basketball doesn’t work out, you have a great, supportive environment to continue to go to school at.”

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Senior Juan Carlos Bolanos was selected Division II national player of the year by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America after leading Cal State Dominguez Hills to its first NCAA title.

In only two years, Bolanos, a forward, ended his college career as the Toros’ second all-time leading scorer behind current Coach Joe Flanagan. This season, the former Bell Gardens High star, had 18 goals and 10 assists for a record-breaking 46 points.

UNIVERSITY DIVISION

UCLA began defense of its NCAA women’s gymnastics title with a first-place showing in last week’s Maui Invitational. The Bruins, who enter the season as the nation’s No. 1 team, had 196.2 points to beat out No. 6 Nebraska and No. 11 Arizona State.

Jamie Dantzscher, a member of the U.S. Olympic team in Sydney, had a startling collegiate debut. She received 10s in her only two events, the uneven bars and floor exercise, and became the first UCLA gymnast to perform such a feat in a meet.

Also senior Mohini Bhardwaj, the team’s top returning gymnast, scored her first career 10 in the floor exercise.

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Angela Williams of USC headlines a number of Southland collegians who will compete in the L.A. Invitational track meet Jan. 20 at the Sports Arena.

Williams, a two-time NCAA 100-meter champion, will run in the 50-meter dash. Other USC athletes expected to compete are defending Pacific 10 Conference hurdles champion Ryan Wilson in the men’s open 55 hurdles, Devon Ward in the men’s 50 and Natasha Neal in the women’s 50 hurdles.

Bridie Hatch, Tiffany Burgess and Jessica Marr will compete for UCLA in the women’s mile.

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Loyola Marymount goalkeeper Tracy Sharp, USC midfielder Isabelle Harvey, Cal Poly Pomona forward Ruth Van’t Land-Parkes and three UCLA players were selected to participate in soccer’s Umbro Select All-Star Tournament Feb. 1-4 at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Tracey Milburn, Venus James and Karissa Hampton of the NCAA runner-up Bruins also will play in all-star games featuring the top collegiate seniors in the country. UCLA forward McKinley Tennyson Jr. was selected to play in the men’s tournament.