College men’s basketball: Lions wild

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - Vanguard University fans rushed the court, maddening

cheers erupted and Shane McKim was too excited to smirk after he and the

Lions men’s basketball team upset the previously unbeaten No. 1 team in

the NAIA, Golden State Athletic Conference nemesis Biola, 75-73, Saturday

night in front of 1,200, who jammed the Pit.

McKim, the Lions 30-year old starting forward, scored a team-high 20

points against the team he played for eight years ago. Vanguard senior

Damion Morbley grabbed 11 of his game-high 14 rebounds in the first half

and finished with 16 points.

Biola answered a 10-point halftime deficit, its largest disadvantage

at the break of the season, with a 15-0 run in a three-minute span,

grabbing its first lead of the game, 61-60 with eight minutes left. And

it was crunch-time down the stretch.

Vanguard sophomore guard Josh Pierson grabbed a crucial defensive

rebound with 0:06 left and then made the front end of one-and-one free

throws for the 75-73 lead. Biola junior B.J. Foster, who scored a

game-high 24 points, saw his three-pointer from the corner sail over

junior Leviticus Williamson’s outstretched right hand and bounce off the

side of the rim as time expired, igniting the Lions’ celebration that

included chants of, “Overrated!”

“This is such a great feeling,” McKim said just after smacking chests

with Vanguard fans. “It’s indescribable because even though I love what

Biola has done for me this is a great rivalry. This win means 11 out of

13 victories for us now. They were the No. 1 team in the nation. Later on

in the (GSAC) tournament, we can be deadly. We can beat anybody. It’s

hard to stop us.”

The Eagles (21-1, 11-1 in the GSAC) found it hard to stop the Lions

(12-9, 8-4), especially without Biola senior point guard Kevin Augustine,

who is averaging 19 points per game during conference play. Augustine

injured his knee Tuesday in an 82-66 win at Concordia.

“Since I’ve been here this is definitely the best win we’ve had,” said

Vanguard Coach Stephen French, who is in his third year. “This is better

than beating a (NCAA Division I) team. (The Eagles) are a tough team, No.

1 in the nation. We were fortunate we didn’t have to play against their

starting point guard. But, our guys talked about it yesterday and said,

‘Hey we’re going to win this game.’ (The Lions) were confident coming in

and gave the effort needed. They did a great job.”

Vanguard quickly took advantage of the out-of-sync Eagles from the

outset, building a 9-0 lead in the first four minutes. Pierson (seven

points) nailed a three-pointer to cap the run, prompting a Biola timeout.

Later, the Lions went on an 11-2 run covering 4:30, featuring junior

Shawn Corkery coming off the bench and lighting up the scoreboard with

two three-pointers in a 37-second span. Williamson (15 points) capped the

run with a 15-foot jumper, producing a 36-19 advantage, the Lions’

biggest lead of the night.

The Eagles earned their second lead of the game with 1:43 left, 71-70,

after Foster hit a three-pointer. Williamson answered with a drive to the

hoop and banked in a scoop shot that he was fouled on with 1:29 left.

Morbley grabbed the offensive rebound on Williamson’s missed free

throw and after a timeout, Corkery dished an assist to senior Ian Boys,

who hit a bank shot in the paint for a 74-71 lead with 0:50 left.