LA MIRADA -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team turned in an impressive performance in its 2023-24 season opener in the PacWest/CCAA Crossover.

The Golden Eagles had four players reach double figures in a 73-65 victory over Biola Friday night in Chase Gym. Cal State LA beat Biola for the first time since the 2019-20 season and avenged a lopsided defeat to the Eagles last season in University Gym.

Corey Cofield had a team-high 16 points for the Golden Eagles, while Shane Bell had 13 points and seven assists. Eche Okeke had 10 points and six rebounds, while Isaiah Fields had 10 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals.

Nathan Medina had a game-high 21 points for Biola, while Casey Cappo had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Kris Krause had eight points, while Dominic Escobar had seven points and three assists for the Golden Eagles.

The key statistic in the game was turnovers, where the Golden Eagles had just eight while forcing a whopping 28. Cal State LA had a 31-11 advantage in points of turnovers. Deuce Walker had five steals for the Golden Eagles, while Okeke had three.

Cal State LA shot 42.4 percent (28-of-66) for the game, including 50 percent in the second half. The Golden Eagles were 5-off-21 from 3-point range and made 12-of-17 from the free-throw line. Biola shot 39.2 percent (20-of-51) and was 6-of-20 from 3-point range. The Eagles were 19-of-27 from the free-throw line. Biola had a 49-29 rebounding edge.

The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as six points in the first half, but took a 30-29 lead after a go-ahead 3-pointer by Krause and grabbed a 32-29 halfftime lead after a basket by Cofield.

Cal State LA led the entire second half and took its biggest lead at 54-40 after a layup by Fields with 11 minutes to go. Biola cut the margin to three points at 63-60, but a dunk by Cofield and a 3-pointer by Bell restored order with three minutes left. Biola got the margin down to five points, but a layup by Cofield, a free throw by Bell and two free throws by Okeke boosted the lead back to 10 in the final minute.

Cal State LA will return to action on Saturday in the tournament finale against Concordia.