[Box score]

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Point Loma men's basketball team got a taste of one of the top teams in the country on Friday (Nov. 9) when they fell to No. 3 Alabama Huntsville, 58-44, in the season opener for both teams.

Senior Todd Campbell led the Sea Lions with six rebounds, six assists and five points. All five of his points came from the free throw line. Dedrick Ward came off the bench for the Chargers with a game-high 11 points. Zane Campbell also scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds for UAH. These were the only two student-athletes on either team to reach double-figure points.

PLNU put forth a valiant effort on the defensive end to keep itself in the game despite hitting only 28 percent of its shots. The Sea Lions held preseason All-American Jaime Smith to just seven points and 2-of-8 shooting from the field, including 1-of-4 from behind the arc. Last season Smith was the nation's leader in 3-point percentage after hitting 48.6 percent of his attempts from the perimeter. As a team, PLNU limited UAH to just 6-of-20 shooting from long range.

The Sea Lions got great contributions of the bench to outscore the Chargers' reserves 29-19. Carter Warnock led PLNU in scoring with seven points. Every member of the Sea Lions scored in the contest and all but one also grabbed a rebound. PLNU lost the rebounding battle by just one (37-36) despite missing 14 more shots. Point Loma was particularly aggressive on the offensive glass, outrebounding UAH 14-9 and outscoring them in second chance points (10-9).

For nearly the whole game Point Loma was in catch-up mode. After Oivind Lundestad scored the first two points on the game on a layup, the Chargers went on a 20-4 run. The Sea Lions would fight back and cut the lead to six points (24-18) on a 3-pointer but Weston Elhers at the 3:07 mark in the first half, but that is as close as they would get. The Chargers would build their lead to 20 points (51-31) in the second half, before PLNU chipped away to make a 14-point game in the end.

The Point Loma men's basketball team will be back in action tomorrow night when they travel to Trevecca Nazarene. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 5:00 p.m. (PST).