Stubborn Biola Holds Off Southern California College, 64-53

There’s no questioning the effort of the Southern California College men’s basketball team, but against visiting Biola Saturday grunt work wasn’t enough.

The hard-charging Vanguards were immobilized by Biola, which won a physical Golden State Athletic Conference game, 64-53, in front of an announced crowd of 1,105 at SCC.

“We played hard,” SCC Coach Bill Reynolds said, “but didn’t have too much to show for it.”

That’s partly because Biola (16-1, 2-0 in conference) proved it could be as tough as the Vanguards (13-6, 0-2). After SCC cut Biola’s four-point halftime lead to one, 25-24, early in the second half, Biola got rolling. A 17-2 run gave the Eagles a 42-26 lead with 13 minutes 10 seconds left, and SCC was playing catch-up the rest of the way.

But catching up is difficult when little is going right on offense. SCC would put itself into position to rally with hustling pressure defense and then fail to take advantage.

The Vanguards made only three of nine free throws in the second half (they were seven of 17 for the game). They turned the ball over 26 times, 10 more than their season average.

SCC cut the lead to seven with 6:10 left on consecutive layups by point guard Adam Dzierzynski, but Biola scored the next 10 points.

Dzierzynski led the Vanguards with 22 points. Forward Marlon Watson had six points, 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals.

SCC’s defense was able to hold Biola’s top two scorers--6-foot-8 Jack Hartman and 6-9 Matt Garrison--to half of their combined average. Garrison, playing in foul trouble, scored 10 points. Hartman had four. But John Florance (19 points) and Jason Ridgeway (15 points) picked up the slack.

In another GSAC men’s basketball game:

Azusa Pacific 82, Concordia 74--Nate Getz converted two three-point plays in the final two minutes for 21st-ranked Azusa Pacific (15-5, 2-0).Rick Haywood scored 21 points for Concordia (7-10, 0-2).

In GSAC women’s basketball:

Azusa Pacific 80, Concordia 69--Kelly Speas scored 24 points as Azusa Pacific (8-9, 1-1) ended its four-game losing streak. Angela Sather scored 19 for Concordia (12-5, 1-1).

Southern California College 65, Biola 56--Alana Kempton scored a season-high 23 points in SCC’s victory over Biola (1-15, 0-2). The Vanguards (13-3, 2-0) remain tied for first with Pt. Loma Nazarene.