SAN DIEGO – Point Loma Nazarene had a 10-point halftime lead on NAIA No. 13-ranked Vanguard but could not hold off the Lions in the second, losing 68-59 Tuesday night in Golden Gym.

PLNU has now dropped three straight and falls to 9-11 overall, 4-8 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Vanguard improved to 13-6, 9-4 GSAC.

The Sea Lions closed out the first half in front, 41-31, leading the opening stanza from start to finish. Briana Colon and Crissa Jackson did much of the damage, contributing 11 and nine points in the half.  

PLNU shot 46.4 percent over the first 20 minutes while holding VUSC to just 37 percent.  The Lions, in fact, made just 10 shots from the field in the first, but were a solid 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. The Sea Lions were dangerous from downtown as well, making six before intermission.

Vanguard slowly chipped away at the Sea Lion lead once the second half began. After five minutes had elapsed the gap was just five points. Less than two minutes later the lead was down to three. Jackson pushed one off the glass to put Loma back ahead by five, starting a mini-rally that saw PLNU take a 50-42 advantage.

The visiting Lions kept the pressure up and passed the Sea Lions by one point when Sarah Boyd hit a three pointer with just over seven minutes to play. Sea Lion forward Abby Boorman sank a trey on the next possession as Point Loma regained a two-point lead.

After another Vanguard basket and a missed chance by Point Loma, Ariel Castillo nailed another from long-range to put the Lions in front by three.  VUSC gained control of the game over the final minutes and went on to a nine-point victory.

The final stats had VUSC shooting 43.1 percent to PLNU's 36.8 percent. The Sea Lions made just eight baskets in the second and one three. Both teams cooled off from long-range over the second, the Lions ended up with seven total in the game, the Sea Lions six. Vanguard made 17-of-24 at the free throw line.

Colon and Jackson paced the PLNU offense with 14 and 13 points respectively. Boorman finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocks with Jackson dishing out six assists.

Molly Pfohl scored 19 points for Vanguard with Boyd adding 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

The Sea Lions host Concordia at 7:00 pm Thursday in a make-up game that was postponed a few weeks ago.