Coming off a buzzer beating loss this past Saturday to William Jessup, the Firestorm will look to regroup as they prepare for road dates with San Diego Christian (Thursday) and Biola University (Saturday). Despite losing an extremely hard fought game, the Firestorm might have gained new life after seeing the resurgence of their high scoring, dynamic offense.

While the first half of conference play has not gone the way the Firestorm expected, the benefit of the Golden State Athletic Conference is that you get to play everyone twice during the season. The Firestorm (12-7, 0-7 GSAC) will now look to avenge two previous conference losses this weekend as they still have their eyes set on making the GSAC Tournament at season's end.

After struggling offensively for the past couple of games, The Firestorm turned in arguably one of their best performances of the conference season this past weekend. Shooting almost 50% from three-point land (13-27) and moving the ball in with great precision, The Firestorm are eager to get back into action and build off that performance. While the road isn't going to be easy, this is a team that has the ability to turn the tables very quickly with a couple more outings like this past Saturday.

Resurgence is the Theme as Key Players Storm Back

Coming into the season, Guard Matt Willkomm and Forward Patson Siame were expected to play important roles in the success of this team. After hitting a rough patch for the past couple of weeks, the duo both showed how dangerous they can be against William Jessup. Siame (10 points, 6 blocks) turned in his best performance of the season as he consistently terrorized the Warriors under the basket all game long. Anyone in Fultz Memorial Gymnasium this past weekend would be able to tell you that Siame played with a fire in his eyes throughout the game. With one block soaring over the Warriors bench, the 7-footer showed just how valuable he can be to this team.

Willkomm, after not attempting a shot in the first half, exploded in the second half for 19 points (5 three-pointers) and seemed to be the spark the Firestorm offense had been looking for. With the shots finally starting to fall again, Willkomm seemed to come up with a big shot every time The Firestorm needed him to. For a team that earlier in the season was lighting up scoreboards, Willkomm helped remind everyone just how deadly The Firestorm offense can be.

If these two can continue to build off Saturday's performance, it is not hard to believe that The Firestorm can get right back into the mix within the conference.

Meet the Opponent: San Diego Christian (5-12, 1-7 GSAC)

No matter their records, the Hawks have proven to be a tough matchup for The Firestorm over the past couple of seasons. The previous matchup in San Diego saw The Firestorm need some late game heroics from Forward Chris Sterling, hitting an "and 1" with 19 seconds left to win 74-72.

The Hawks are led by Guard Isaiah Milan (16.1 ppg) and Forward Derek Novesek (14.6 ppg), and have continued to live and die from behind the three-point line this season. While neither of these players had a huge impact on the previous matchup scoring, they both commanded enough attention that other guys were able to free up to hit open looks.

The three-ball proved to be the difference earlier this season when the Hawks came to Phoenix and pulled out a last second win against the Firestorm (69-67). Outshooting The Firestorm from three 12-1, the Hawks seemed to be able to come up with a clutch deep ball every time The Firestorm tried to pull away. With 6 out of the last 7 matchups between these teams being decided by single digits, look for perimeter shooting to once again play a big factor in who can come out on top.

Previous Meeting: SDCC Won 69-67 earlier this season in Phoenix.

Series Record: Firestorm Lead 8-2

Game Info: Tipoff is scheduled for Thursday 01/26 @ 8:30pm AZ time in El Cajon, CA

If you can't make the game, you can tune into the live broadcast from SDCC by following this link https://portal.stretchinternet.com/acu.

You can also follow along on the Firestorm Basketball Twitter Page (@ACUMBB)

Meet the Opponent: #7 Biola University (20-2, 6-2 GSAC)

The Eagles are led by Guard Dakari Archer (14.4 ppg) and Forward Caelan Tiongson (13.1 ppg). Neither are strangers to the Firestorm as they have been fixtures for the Eagles for a couple seasons now. In the previous matchup earlier this season, the duo for over half of the Eagles points (43). The Eagles are 11-1 at home this season with their only loss coming in an upset by William Jessup in the conference opener. The Eagles are the conference gold standard when it comes to defense ranking 3rd in scoring defense (60.3 ppg), 2nd in defensive rebounds per game (28), 3rd in field goal percent defense (38%) and 12th in three-point defense (29%). In the previous matchup with the Eagles, The Firestorm were held to one of their lowest shooting percentages of conference play (33%) as the Eagles lived up to their branding. Scoring a season low 16 points in the first half, The Firestorm were able to regroup in the second half to score 44 points. With the teams meeting again so quickly, The Firestorm will look to continue to find ways to break through one of the toughest defenses they've faced this season.

Previous Meeting: Biola won earlier this season 70-60 in Phoenix

Series Record: Firestorm lead 6-5

Game Info: Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday 01/28 @ 5:00 pm AZ time in La Mirada, CA

If you can't make the game, you can tune into the live broadcast from Biola by following this link https://portal.stretchinternet.com/acu.

You can also follow along on the Firestorm Basketball Twitter Page (@ACUMBB)