Box Score

SAN DIEGO - A valiant comeback effort by the Point Loma men's basketball team came up just short against Dominican (CA) as the Sea Lions fell to the Penguins 68-58 on Thursday night (Jan. 30).

The win helped elevate DU (14-7, 8-5 PacWest) into fifth place in the Pacific West Conference standings. The loss dropped the Sea Lions (11-8, 6-7 PacWest) down into eighth place.

Connor Haysbert had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Penguins to the road victory. Dominican also got 18 points, including four 3-pointers, from Matt Hayes and 10 points from Devin Golston.

Judd Welfringer came off the bench and paced PLNU with 13 points. Junior Morgan added 10 point on 5-of-6 shooting and also added six rebounds.

PLNU started the game slowly falling behind by as many as 19 points in the first half (32-13) and trailed 38-25 at halftime. Nine minutes into the second half PLNU was still down 13 points before putting together a 15-4 run, capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers from Taylor Wetherell and Welfringer, to cut the lead to two (53-51) with seven minutes left. 

The teams would trade baskets over the next five minutes but PLNU could never take the lead. The game was still a two-point contest with 2:32 remaining after Malcolm Collins sunk a shot from long range. DU's Hayes answered with a trey to go back up by five (63-58) with 2:03 left. PLNU was stopped on its next possession but the Sea Lions' defense also came up with a stand as Welfringer stole the ball and headed down the court to cut the Penguins' lead to two or even three points. Welfringer drove the ball to the hoop versus one defender on the fast break but was whistled for the charge when the two student-athletes made contact giving the ball back to DU with 48 seconds remaining.

Point Loma fouled on the ensuing possession and DU knocked down both shots from the charity stripe to extend its led to seven. The Penguins would hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 48 seconds, while PLNU missed three 3-point attempts, to thwart any more hopes of a Sea Lions' comeback.

Dominican shot 53 percent in the first half compared to just 38 percent for the Sea Lions to build its early advantage. The Penguins also won the battle of the board 33-25, and outscored the Sea Lions 10-0 in second chance points.

The bench for PLNU was the story tonight as it outscored DU's 28-4. In addition to Welfringer leading the team with 13 points, Collins came through with a season-best points while both Wetherell and Mike Planeta added big 3-pointers during the comeback.

Point Loma will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 1, when it hosts Academy of Art (4-15, 2-10 PacWest) for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff.