SAN RAFAEL, Calif.— Biola University came from behind to steal a 65-64 victory over the Penguins Saturday night at the Conlan Center.
 
Dominican (0-8, 0-2 PacWest) held Biola (6-2, 2-0 PacWest) to just 41.95% shooting in the first half, controlling the pace of play. The Eagles redeemed themselves in the second half, increasing that percentage to 55.5%. Biola also increased their three-point percentage, shooting 25% in the first half, and 40% in the second. Jesse Elrod led the comeback for the Eagles as their leading scorer of the night with 16 points, five rebounds, one assist and one block. Michael Bagatourian helped the Eagles hang on late in the second half, collecting 12 points, four rebounds and one block. 
 
The Penguins led Biola in the first half behind a strong performance from Lazar Djurovic, who recorded a double-double, and career-high of 15 rebounds and 14 points, to go with an assist on the night. Jordan Williams was the leading scorer for the Penguins with 15 points, while also bringing down 7 rebounds and tallying one assist. 
 
To begin the first half, Jaelen Ragsdale helped the Penguins run to a 7-0 start with a three from the corner. Marquise Mosley responded for Biola with a pullup jumper, but Djurovic helped the Penguins stay in control of the game by posting up down low to earn a bucket off the glass. Sam Averbuck continued the Penguins' hot streak with a three from the right wing, extending Dominican's lead to 12-2, 3:08 into the half. 
 
Swift ball movement from the Penguins allowed Djurovic to take a step-back jumper from beyond the left block to bring the Penguins' lead to 18-8. Solomon Ruddell didn't skip a beat, cutting to the basket for a left-handed lay-up to cut the Eagles' deficit to 8 nearing the midway point of the first half. The Penguins retaliated by going on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 25-10 as Chase Anderson came off the bench to drive through the paint for a reverse lay-up with 9:43 to go until the break.
 
Bagatourian rejected an attempt from Williams II in the paint, which led to a fast break for Marquise Mosley to cut the Eagles' deficit to 22-31 by going coast-to-coast for a lay-up with 2:21 left in the first half. The Penguins responded with their own fast-break, allowing Ragsdale to draw a foul and make it the line to earn the two points back. Biola's bench was called for a technical foul, which allowed Dominican to earn three out of four free throws, putting the Penguins back in the driver's seat, 34-22. With under two minutes until the break, Biola caught fire and finished the half on a 7-0 run to head into the locker room trailing by just five points with the score of 29-34.
 
Biola continued their streak into the second half as the Eagles redeemed an offensive rebound and Dominguez tied the game at 34 with a three-pointer from the corner. Moseley drew a shooting foul on the following possession and knocked down one of two free throws to give Biola its first lead of the night, 35-34, 1:35 into the second half. But once again, it was Djurovic who helped the Penguins cut the Eagles' streak, finding Averbuck at the top of the key for a three-pointer to put Dominican back in the lead, 37-35. 
 
With 2:13 to go in regulation, and the Penguins leading by one point, Jordan Williams hit a fade-away jumper, but Bagatourian erased the deficit all together with a three pointer to tie the game at 61. Coming out of the timeout, Bagatourian scored another quick bucket for the Eagles to take a 2-point lead. Biola forced the Penguins to run down the shot clock before Jordan Williams sank a three pointer from deep to give Dominican a 64-63 lead with 39 seconds left. 
 
On the Eagles' next possession, Jordan Williams fouled Moseley to send him to the line for a chance to take the lead, but Moseley missed the first attempt on a 1-and-1 opportunity and Djurovic collected the rebound. Biola was forced to foul, sending Ragsdale to the line, but Ragsdale missed the first attempt as well, leaving the Penguins with just a one-point lead with 12 seconds left in regulation. Bagatourian recovered the rebound and pushed it ahead to Mosley, who created space in the corner and knocked down a pullup jumper near the baseline to seal the one-point victory. 
 
The Penguins will host Hawai'i Pacific University Monday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m. PST as they look to earn their first win of the season. Live stats will be available online.