Biola Nips CSDH, 69-67, Wins Pomona Tourney

Friday night, when the Cal Poly Pomona basketball tournament got under way, Biola University Coach Dave Holmquist watched Cal State Dominguez Hills post an easy 91-69 season-opening win over the University of Manitoba.

Preparing to face Pomona later that night, Holmquist insisted: “I’ll be happy to get out of here with a 1-1 record.”

So who accepted the championship trophy following a 69-67 double-overtime victory over Dominguez Hills on Saturday night?

Holmquist.

“Dave is such a fine coach,” said Dominguez Hills Coach Dave Yanai. ‘You can never discount his teams.”

Biola, 2-0 on the year, trailed by as many as 14 points in the championship game, yet last year’s semi-finalist in the NAIA playoffs came back time and time again. Dominguez Hills fell to 0-1 because Friday’s victory over the Canadian team does not count under NCAA rules.

“They played much better than we did in the last 15 minutes of the game,” said Yanai. “They cinched up their belts . . . the momentum changed . . . we got out of synch in our offense.”

In a match between two of Southern California’s best small schools, Dominguez Hills led 29-18 at the half, thanks to a 3-point jumper by guard Robert Barksdale at the buzzer.