[Live stats] [Live video]

THIS WEEK:
The Point Loma basketball team will host a pair of games this week against Pacific West Conference opponents from the Bay Area. The Sea Lions will welcome in Dominican (13-7, 7-5 PacWest) on Throwback Thursday (Jan. 30) for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. They will then face Academy of Art (4-14, 2-9 PacWest) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. 

THROWBACK THURSDAY:
Put on your leg warmers and break out the hair spray as PLNU will have a 80s theme night on Thursday, Jan. 30 against Dominican (CA). Fans are encouraged to wear 80s gear and come enjoy the game while listening to the classic hits of the era throughout the contests.

FOLLOW ALONG:
The games will be available for fans to follow through live video and live stats. Live video at the home games are available through America One on a pay-per-view basis. Live stats will be free. Both the live stats and the live video may be accessed through Point Loma's website at www.plnusealions.com or by clicking the following links: [Live stats] [Live video]

A LOOK AT THE SEA LIONS:
Point Loma is coming off another close game, this time resulting in a 65-63 upset of No. 18 ranked Dixie State last Saturday (Jan. 25) at Golden Gymnasium. The win moved the Sea Lions to 11-7 on the season and evened their PacWest record at 6-6 (eighth place). Those six conference losses have come by a combined 24 points, which included a 71-63 loss to an undefeated Cal Baptist team.

Hayden Lescault leads PLNU and ranks sixth in the PacWest with 171. ppg. He also ranks fourth in the conference in steals (1.6), sixth assists (4.1) and fifth in minutes (34.8) while leading the team in each category. He is shooting .500 percent from the field and .724 percent from the free throw line. Junior Morgan has provided PLNU with a solid presence in the paint. He is averaging 13.6 ppg and 6.4 rebounds to rank 14th and 13th, respectively, in the PacWest. He is also ranked 10th in the PacWest in shooting percentage at .550. Fellow big man AJ Ussery is ninth in the PacWest in shooting percentage (.554), 11th in rebounding (6.8) and fourth in blocks (1.7). Point guard Marek Klassen ranks sixth in the PacWest in 3-pointers per game (2.3), eighth in assists (3.5) and 19th in scoring (12.8).

Point Loma leads the PacWest in scoring defense, allowing just 68.7 ppg. Their opponents are shooting just .422 percent from the field and .341 from 3-point range (second and fifth in the PacWest, respectively). On offense, PLNU is third in the conference with a .489 field goal percentage, and ranks third in assists (14.2) and fifth in 3-pointer percentage (.370). 

A LOOK AT THE PENGUINS:
Dominican (CA) has won back-to-back games since dropping four straight. The Penguins are 13-7 on the season and 7-5 in the PacWest (sixth place). Devin Golston leads DU with 16.2 ppg and 6.8 rebounds. He is shooting .566 percent from the field. All five of the Penguins' starters this season are averaging in double-figures. Dominique Taplin is second on the team with 13.7 ppg. He is also joined in the double-figure scoring column by Connor Haysbert (12.6), Matt Hayes (11.5) and Myles Carrillo (11.0). The Penguins are ranked fifth in the PacWest with 78.7 ppg and rank fourth in field goal percentage (.486). They lead the league with just 11.2 turnovers per game and rank fourth in assists (13.9).

Recap of PLNU at DU (12/7/2013): Dominican (CA) had just three turnovers in the entire game as the Point Loma men's basketball team fell on the road to the Penguins, 68-62, on Saturday (Dec. 7). Hayden Lescault scored a game-high 19 points for the Sea Lions, and Marek Klassen added 18. Lescault paced PLNU with five assists, while Klassen hit four 3-pointers and tied for the team-lead with six rebounds. Devin Golston had 18 points to lead four Penguins in double-figures. He also added a team-leading nine rebounds.

A LOOK AT THE URBAN KNIGHTS:
Academy of Art is 4-14 on the season and 2-9 in the PacWest. However, one of those two conference wins came in the conference opener over PLNU, 63-61. The Urban Knights have lost seven of their last eight games with their only win during the stretch coming at home against Hawaii Hilo. Alex Cameron is one of three Urban Knights averaging double-figures in scoring. He is scoring 17.4 ppg and grabbing 6.4 rebounds. Alexis Moore (16.8 ppg) is the team's leading rebounder with 6.6 boards per game. Aaron Aikman is scoring 10.1 ppg and shooting a team-leading .595 percent from the field. As a team, AAU ranks 11th in the PacWest with 72.1 ppg.

Recap of PLNU at AAU (12/3/2013): Academy Art defeated PLNU 63-61 in the PacWest opner for both teams on Dec. 3, 2013. Hayden Lescault led the Sea Lions with 21 points. Junior Morgan added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Marek Klassen chipped in with 10. Alex Carmon was a force for the Urban Knights. He scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He also hit three 3-pointers and led the team with three assists.

Early in the game the teams traded baskets as the Urban Knights would take a 28-26 lead into the half. The game would continue that way up till the 5:12 mark when Morgan hit a free throw to knot the game at 54-54. AAU would then rattle off six straight points, four by Herman Pratt, to go up 60-54 with 2:19 remaining. PLNU would break the run on a 3-pointer by Klassen with 1:02 left to cut the lead back to three. Point Loma then started to play the foul game. Over the final minute AAU would go just 3-of-8 at the free throw line but PLNU could not hit its shots to take advantage of this opportunity and fell 63-61.

NEXT WEEK:
PLNU will play just one game next week when it travels to Fresno Pacific to face the Sunbirds on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 4:30 p.m.