Box Score

HILO, Hawaii - Hayden Lescault and Junior Morgan each recorded career-highs in points to lift the Point Loma men's basketball team to an 87-73 win on the road at Hawaii Hilo on Monday, Jan. 6.

Lescault went 8-of-16 from the field, including hitting three 3-pointers, and 12-of-15 at the free throw line en route to pouring in a Point Loma season-best 31 points. His 31 points topped the 29 scored by Marek Klassen at Holy Names on Dec. 5. Lescault also added five rebounds and two steals.

Morgan was a dominate presence inside to provide the Sea Lions with a strong one-two scoring punch. He hit 9-of-11 shots from the field to score 21 points while pulling in seven rebounds. This was just the third time this season two Sea Lions have reached the 20-point plateau in the same game.

AJ Ussery also added his second double-double of the season for PLNU with 14 points and 10 points. The Morgan-Ussery duo helped fuel the Sea Lions to a dominant plus-13 edge (42-29) over the Vulcans on the glass.

The Sea Lions jumped on the Vulcans by scoring the first five points of the game and never let them tie of take the lead. This was the third straight win for PLNU in the Pacific West Conference as it moved to 4-3 in league play and 9-4 overall. Hawaii Hilo is still searching for its first win in the PacWest. UHH is now 3-10 and 0-7 in the PacWest.

It was the PLNU defense that proved to be the difference maker. The Sea Lions held the Vulcans to 39.3 percent shooting in the game, and just 9-of-27 from 3-point range. The five Vulcan starters combined to score just 37 of the team's 73 points. Yevgeniy Dyachenko led the team with 14 points. 

Meanwhile, Point Loma continued to be the most efficient shooting team in the conference. PLNU hit 53.7 percent of its shots in the game (29-of-54) and went 23-of-31 at the free throw line. Morgan led that efficient effort with his 9-for-11 shooting night, while Ussery was 6-of-9 from the field and Sam Okhotin scored eight points, while grabbing five rebounds, on just two shots.

The Point Loma men's basketball team will continue its road trip at Hawaii Pacific on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 8:30 p.m. (PST).