CLAREMONT, Calif. – The McKendree University men's water polo team opened up play here Friday at the Gary Troyer Invitational with a 19-11 setback to Biola University at the Axelrood Aquatics Center on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

With the setback, McKendree falls to 2-8 on the season, while Biola improved to 6-11 on the season.

The Bearcats will continue play in the two-day event with a 4:40 p.m. PT match against Westcliff at the Axelrood Aquatics Center.
In Friday's match, which began at 9 a.m. PT, the Bearcats were outscored 5-1 in the third period as the Eagles increased their 10-6 halftime lead to 15-7 heading into the final period. Both teams scored four goals each in the fourth and final period.

Fifth-year senior attacker Nico Rodriguez (Bogota, Colombia/Ovideo) paced the Bearcats with three goals and two assists for a total of five points. In addition to Rodriguez, sophomore attacker Jespyn Bishop (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) and fifth-year senior attack Tony Sunagawa (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills) each had two goals for the Bearcats. The Axelrood Aquatics Center is about 10 miles from Sungawa's hometown of Chino Hills, Calif.

Biola jumped in front 2-0 in the opening 90 seconds of the game, before back-to-back goals from junior Breno Tebet (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Golden West College) and Rodriguez tied things up with 5:28 left in the opening period.

The Eagles once again would score two straight goals to take a 4-2 lead, but the Bearcats came right back and used two goals from Sunagawa to tie the game at 4-all with three minutes to  go in the first period.

Biola would score five of the next six goals over a span of nearly six minutes to take a 9-5 lead with 4:10 left in the second period. Biola led 6-4 after the first period.

A goal from junior center defender Adam Serrano (Riverside, Calif./Poly) with 1:32 left in the period brought the Bearcats within 9-6, but Nolan Rapp scored with a minute left in the period to give Biola its 10-6 halftime lead.

The Eagles opened the third period by scoring four straight goal to push its lead to 14-6. Bishop, though, would stop the Eagles run with a goal at the 1:47 mark to pull McK within 14-7, but Biola capped the period with a goal from Maxwell Osborn to lead 15-7 after 24 minutes of play.

In the fourth period, the Bearcats would get goals from Rodriguez, Bishop, freshman center/utility player Cale Koester (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) and graduate student attacker Josh Carlson (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West).

Carlson, freshman Zach Callejas (Miami, Fla./Belan Jesuit Prep) and Sunagawa each had two exclusions in the game as the Bearcats recorded a total of 11 in the game.  Biola finished with 12 exclusions.

For the game, McKendree was outshot, 31-26, as Rodriguez led the way with seven shots, while Bishop, Sunagawa and Tebet each took four shot in the game.

Junior Jimmy Cronin (Naperville, Ill./Metea Valley) played all 32 minutes in goal for the Bearcats and collected eight saves and had a team-best three steals.

Biola was paced offensively by five goals from Osborn, while Rapp added three goals and two assists in the win. Mitchell Carpenter played all 32 minutes in goal for Biola and along with allowing 11 goals, he had seven saves and two steals.

Following Friday's afternoon game with Westcliff, the Bearcats will conclude the event with games on Saturday, Oct. 1  at the De Mandel Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, Calif., against Cal Lutheran and Ottawa (Ariz.) at 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. PT.