SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The California State University San Bernardino men's basketball team used a huge second half to advance past Biola University in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament on Friday evening at Golden Gymnasium.

With the win, the Coyotes earn an NCAA Tournament win for the fourth consecutive season, and improve to 23-11 overall on the year.

Cal State San Bernardino got off to a strong start, jumping out to a 7-2 lead just under three and a half minutes into the contest after a made three from senior Charlie Henderson (Ladera Ranch, Calif.). 

Biola fought back to knot the game at 9-9, but CSUSB responded with a 7-1 run of their own, taking a 16-10 lead on a lay-in from senior Andrew Henderson (Chatsworth, Calif.).

An Andrew Henderson old-fashioned three-point play midway through the period gave the Coyotes their largest lead of the first half at 22-14, but Biola would battle back to draw within one at 29-28 with 4:27 to play, forcing a Coyote timeout.

Biola jumped ahead by three late in the first half, but a contested three from Andrew Henderson sent the game to the half knotted at 37-37.

Andrew Henderson led all players with 14 first half points, while senior Nic Welp (Seattle, Wash.) had a solid first half with nine points, six rebounds, and three assists.

Biola hit a three-pointer to take a 40-37 lead on their opening possession of the second half, but the Coyotes kicked it into gear after that. They responded with a 11-0 run to take a 48-40 lead, holding the Eagles scoreless for nearly five and a half minutes.

The Yotes would not look back after the big run, putting the game to bed with a dominant second half performance. They outscored Biola 51-40 in the second half, and led by as many as 21 points with just under five minutes to play. After scoring no fast break points in the first half, the Coyotes scored 15 on the break in the second half.

Andrew Henderson was the game's leading scorer, posting 28 points. He also had the contest's only double-double with a game-high 11 boards. Welp had a big night on the offensive end, scoring 22 points on 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) shooting, while Evan Oliver (San Bernardino, Calif.) scored 18 points and dished out eight assists.

The Coyotes advance to take on the hosts and top seed Point Loma Nazarene University on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a spot in the West Regional final on the line.

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