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SAN DIEGO - Point Loma Nazarene had its chances but an upset wasn't in the cards; the Sea Lions losing to the third-ranked Eagles 80-70 Tuesday night in Golden Gym.

The GSAC tilt saw the score tied 15 times with 12 lead changes. The final tie was 58-58 midway through the second half. A pair of free throws and a layup put the Eagles out in front. CUI's lead swelled to seven with just under four minutes to play until a 6-0 PLNU run closed the deficit to just three points.

Eagle Peter Smith and Sea Lion James Hancock traded layups to keep the gap at three at the 2:08 mark. The final two minutes belonged to the Eagles, however, as they outscored PLNU 9-2 to win by 10. Point Loma missed on four of its last five tries from the field during that span and both free throw attempts.

Point Loma ended up shooting 41.2 percent by was successful on just 2-of-15 three pointers. CUI shot 45.2 percent, making seven threes. The two teams were close in rebounds, PLNU just coming out ahead 41-39. 

Concordia improved to 15-2 overall and are now 7-0 in Golden State Athletic Conference play. The Sea Lions fell to 9-8, 5-2 GSAC.

Three PLNU players scored in double figures led by Greg Murray who had 14 points. Rhett Beal finished with 12 points and six boards with Marek Klassen adding 11 points. Hancock and Todd Campbell each contributed eight points.

Concordia used a balanced attack Tuesday with five of its members tallying at least 10 points. Justin Johnson led the Eagles with 17 points, Jarrel Smith adding 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Sea Lions are on the road Saturday when they will take on Fresno Pacific starting at 4:30 pm.

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