Eagles Fly High and Win GSAC Championship - Mar 9, 2016

The 2016 Golden State Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament championship came down to the final minutes. The top seeded Biola Eagles secured the championship crown beating the Hope International Royals 60-52.
When two of the top seven teams in the nation match up, it is usually in the National Tournament. However, this year the GSAC is so strong that it had four teams ranked in the top 25 in the country. On Tuesday night in front of a packed House at Darling Pavilion we saw two of the best men's teams in the nation square off to play for an automatic bid into the NAIA National Tournament. To watch the NAIA selection show on March 9 at 4:00 pm, go to www.NAIANetwork.com.
The thirdranked Eagles finish the regular season 28-3 and will automatically qualify for the national tournament being the GSAC tournament champions. Look for them to make a deep run in the National Tournament and possibly win it all. The No. 7 Royals are almost guaranteed a spot into the tournament as well since they rank in the top 10 in the country and have a strong resume.
The Eagles got off to a fast start in the opening minutes with an 8-1 run out of the gate.
Senior guard, Ramon Mejia (6'0''-G) would not let that last long as he scored 14 of the next 16 points for the Royals to put them up 17-16 with 9 minutes to play in the first half. The next 4 minutes would be a defensive battle as both teams traded baskets with Biola taking a one-point lead with 5 minutes to play before the half, 19-18.
As expected, this would be a classic game. Both teams continued to try and get on a run but neither team would budge. The Eagles went into the locker room with a two-point advantage, 28-26 at intermission.
Ramon Mejia led all scorers at halftime pouring in 18 points on 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. GSAC Player of the Year, Dakari Archer (5'9''-PG-94), scored 12 points for the Eagles on 5-13 from the field.
The first six minutes of the second half was a defensive battle, which has been Biola bread and butter all season. The Eagles still hanging tough, held a one-point lead, 33-32.
Right before the second TV timeout Eagles sharp shooter, Blake Shannon (6'1''-PG), hit a three pointer to put the Biola up three. The Royals would not go away as they came out of the timeout and tied the game at 42 apiece with just over 10 minutes to go.
Over the next three minutes, Dakari Archer would show us why coaches voted him GSAC Player of the Year. The junior guard went on a 6-0 run by himself forcing Hope International head coach Bill Czech to burn a timeout.
Going into the last TV timeout Biola held on to 4-point advantage. The Eagles would come out soaring and double their lead to making it 54-46. The Eagles defense was getting the job done once again as they would only allow four points in an eight-minute stretch.
Hope finally scored with two minutes to play cutting Biola's lead to 54-49.
Hope International senior guard, Bernard Ireland (6'5''-F), got fouled and would go to the line with 49 seconds to play making both free throws to put the score at 54-51 Biola. The Royals tried to trap the Eagles but Archer escaped the pressure and got fouled. He made both free throws to extend the lead back to five with 25 seconds to go.
The Royals would get fouled twice under 20 seconds and go 1 for 4 from the free throw line. This cost the Royals a shot of making it a one-point game.
On the other end, Archer got fouled and would make both of his charity stripe shots putting Biola up 6. The Eagles would end the game with a steal that led to a leak out making the final score 60-52.
Royals Ramon Mejia would finish with 26 points leading all scorers in the game. GSAC POY, Dakari Archer, scored 24 points for the Eagles while going a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line.

Courtesy of GSAC Sports

GSAC Tournament Final: Biola - Hope International 60-52
GSAC Tournament Semifinals:
Biola - Westmont 75-66, OT
Hope International - Vanguard 73-53