Men's Basketball
11/27/2007 - Royals Complete Sweep of Eagles
Fullerton, CA- Hope International made history on Tuesday night by defeating GSAC rival Biola, 59-55, inside the Darling Pavilion. Combined with the Women's Basketball win earlier in the evening, the Royals swept a doubleheader for the first time since joining the GSAC. Junior Arron Boone led the attack with 23 points.
Without the services of their leading scorer Marko Torovic due to injury, the Royals (1-4, 1-1 GSAC) knew going in somebody else would need to step up to fill Torovic's shoes.
Boone did just that by hitting 8 of 10 shots from the field including 2 of 3 from behind the three-point line. Boone's 3 pointer with 5:48 to play in the second half gave the Royals the lead that they would keep for the remainder of the game. He also finished with a team high 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Junior Ryan Sewitsky knocked down 13 points for the second game in a row. Just like against Fresno, Sewitsky also hit two 3 pointers against the Eagles. However, more importantly he was 5 of 6 from the free throw line.
Not to be out done, Senior Trent Hardeman also made two 3 pointers and finished with 7 points.
With the win, the Royals snapped a 24 game losing streak against the Eagles. Tuesday's win represents only the second time ever that Hope has beaten Biola. The only other win came way back in November 1994. Overall, the Eagles still have 33-2 win/loss record against the Royals.
For the Eagles (3-2, 1-1 GSAC), they had two players finish with a double-double. Both playing 38 of 40 possible minutes, Danny Jones had 17 points and 10 rebounds while Rocky Hampton had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The difference in the game for the Eagles was their 3 point shooting. When all was said and done, they finished 1 for 12 from the 3 point line.
The Royals will have a short turn around as they play again on Wednesday against NCAA Division I UC Riverside in Riverside at 7pm. They will return to GSAC play this Saturday on the road at Point Loma Nazarene at 7:30. Both games will be broadcast on Stretch Internet and can be accessed at http://www.hiu.edu/athletics/livebcast/.