Lions can’t stop Biola’s Campbell

COSTA MESA — Fifty-two seconds into the game, and Biola University sophomore Danny Campbell was feeling it.

His two three-pointers on the Eagles’ first two possessions served as warning shots to the Vanguard men’s basketball team.

But Campbell didn’t stop there. His hot streak would last all game, as he dropped in a career-high 31 points to send the Lions to a 73-66 Golden State Athletic Conference loss Saturday Night at The Pit.

Campbell, a Mater Dei High graduate, enjoyed his trip back to Orange County plenty. His eight three-pointers tied a Biola school record, and at one point he nailed four three-pointers in a row in the second half.

“He killed us,” said Lions senior guard Brian Roberts, who himself nailed five three-pointers off the bench for a team-high 15 points. “He hit open shots, he hit contested shots. It felt like everything he was throwing up was going in. Credit goes to him. If we could have stopped him, we could have won the game.”

Instead, Biola (11-8, 3-6 in conference) never trailed. The Eagles sped to a 10-1 lead on Campbell’s third three-pointer, then made it a 19-8 advantage on his fourth.

Vanguard (11-6, 5-4) answered with nine straight points. And, after Biola cushioned its lead, the Lions would pull within five late in the first half when senior forward Greg Gusiff nailed a three-pointer from the corner. But Biola senior forward Danny Jones made back-to-back layups to help his team to a 29-20 halftime advantage.

The Lions, going against a Biola defense that allows the fewest points in the conference, shot just seven of 32 in the first half for 21.9%. Besides Gusiff (two of three), the other four starters were a combined one of 14 from the field.

“We wouldn’t pass the ball enough to get open shots,” Vanguard Coach Fred Litzenberger said. “Maybe that’s because they’re a great defensive team, or maybe we refused to pass the ball enough ... We’ve gone completely backward in the last two weeks, in terms of execution on offense and stopping drives and pressuring shots on defense. We’ve got to play better as a team. We’re playing as a bunch of individuals, and teams beat individuals every single time. That’s where we are.”

The Lions did bring some energy to begin the second half. On the opening possession, senior center Arvydas Vaitiekus dunked on sophomore guard Greg Scott’s pass. After a Vaitiekus block, Gusiff threw down a breakaway dunk to trim the Biola lead back to five.

Vanguard would get within five points three more times in the next several minutes, and was still within six before Campbell nailed another three-pointer to put Biola up, 50-41, with 8:50 to play.

The Lions would again pull within five on junior guard Andrew Ellis’ three-pointer with 3:25 to play, but could get no closer.

As effective as Campbell was from the outside, Jones (16 points and eight rebounds) and sophomore forward Rocky Hampton (10 points) helped Biola to 28 points in the paint. Vanguard had just 12.

“It didn’t seem like we had the same intensity we normally have,” Roberts said. “We’ve got to find that, and bring it back.”

Golden State Athletic Conference

Biola 73, Vanguard 66

BU – Campbell 31, Jones 16, Hampton 10, King 8, Tieu 4, Salo 3, Schroeder 1.

3-pt. goals – Campbell 8, Salo 1.

Fouled out – None.

VU– Roberts 15, Gusiff 10, Ellis 8, Trajceski 7, Heenan 6, Vaitiekus 5, Johnson 5, Scott 4, Davis 3, Henderson 3.

3-pt. goals – Roberts 5, Heenan 2, Gusiff 2, Ellis 1, Johnson 1, Davis 1.

Fouled out – None.

Halftime – Biola, 29-20.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.