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SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Despite playing without injured starters Todd Campbell and All-Conference selection Rhett Beal, NAIA No. 11-ranked Point Loma Nazarene cruised to a 97-80 win over Vanguard University in the first round of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament Thursday night in Golden Gym.

 

The Sea Lions, seeded second for the GSAC Tournament, dominated the glass, outrebounding the sixth-seeded Lions 44-29. The Green and Gold also shot a scorching 60 percent (37-62) from the field en route to a season high in points scored.

Sophomore Marek Klassen finished a perfect 5-5 from beyond the arch to score a game-high 20 points with eight rebounds for PLNU. Four other Sea Lions scored in double figures. All-GSAC senior Greg Murray poured in 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Sophomore Hayden Lescault added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Senior Wil Bush went 4-9 from long range to finish with 14 points, and fellow senior Jake Johnston chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds as the Sea Lions advanced to the GSAC Tournament Semifinals.

From the outset, Point Loma proved that it was worthy of their two-seed. After a free throw by Vanguard to open the scoring, the Green and Gold hit their first three shots, 3-pointers by sophomore Ross Davidson, Klassen and Bush, to open on a 9-1 run.
 
Vanguard's Chris Pynch hit a jumper in traffic, but Davidson answered with another 3-pointer to put PLNU up 12-3. With a jumper one minute later, Davidson set a new season best in points, finishing the game with eight.
 
The Sea Lions continued to build their momentum, hitting 11 of their first 12 shots. Another 3-pointer from Bush gave Point Loma its largest lead of the first half at 37-15.
 
The Lions hung around, but they could pull closer than 15 points with six and a half minutes before the half. But after a pair of free throws from Klassen, a thunderous one-handed slam from Anthony Ussery kept the Sea Lions in control.
 
With the clock winding down, Javonte Sales found Lescault for a buzzer-beating fastbreak layup to give the Green and Gold a 50-30 halftime lead.
 
Murray opened the second half with a jumper, and the Sea Lions kept the momentum going.
 
PLNU led by as many as 23 points in the second half thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Klassen and Murray.
 
Vanguard sank eight 3-pointers of their own to go along with 22 free throws to keep the game from getting too far out of hand, but they never threatened as the Sea Lions continued to roll.
 
All-GSAC selection Chris Raybon finished with 18 points to lead the Lions, who end the season at 15-15.

On Saturday, the Sea Lions (20-8) will play No. 19-ranked and third-seeded Biola University in a semifinal game. The Eagles beat The Master's 75-67 tonight to earn the trip to the semis.

Both semifinal matchups will be hosted by No. 4-ranked Concordia University, the GSAC regular season champions and the tournament's top seed. CUI topped Fresno Pacific in a wild first round game, 87-83 and will play Azusa Pacific, which edged Westmont 57-54.
 
Tipoff for Saturday's game against Biola is slated for 5:30 pm. Concordia then takes on Azusa Pacific at 7:30 pm.

Thursday, March 1, 2012
GSAC Tournament – First Round
at highest seeds
#1 Concordia (H) 87, #8 Fresno Pacific 83
#2 Point Loma Nazarene (H) 97, #7 Vanguard 80
#3 Biola (H) 75, #6 The Masters 67
#4 Azusa Pacific (H) 57, #5 Westmont 54

Saturday, March 3, 2012
GSAC Tournament – Semifinals
at Concordia in Irvine, CA
#3 Biola vs. #2 Point Loma Nazarene, 5:30 pm
#4 Azusa Pacific at #1 Concordia, 7:30 pm