AZUSA, Calif. - The game hinged on the 3-point shot, and in the second half Azusa Pacific seemingly could not miss, as the Cougars overcame a halftime deficit to beat the Point Loma men's basketball team, 74-64 (Jan. 21).
 
This marks the first time all season Point Loma (13-4, 6-4 PacWest) has lost back-to-back games. The win helps Azusa Pacific (16-2, 9-1 PacWest) retake first place in the Pacific West Conference standings by a half-game over California Baptist (14-2, 8-1 PacWest). PLNU is tied for fifth in the standings with Hawaii Pacific at 6-4.
 
Point Loma shot nearly 50 percent in the first half (14-of-29) to build a 35-30 lead at intermission. That lead was immediately erased when the Cougars scored 14 of the first 19 points, in a five minute span, to turn the five-point deficit into a four-point advantage (44-40). APU made its first three 3-point attempts in the second half to help fuel its run.
 
PLNU battled back to take leads on a 3-pointer by Sam Okhotin (48-47) and a tip-in by Zach Burnham (50-49) but Azusa Pacific's hot shooting from long range continued when Robert Sandoval made a trey to give APU back the lead at 52-50. Point Loma would tie the game once more on a layup by Hayden Lescault (52-52) with 10:50 left but the Sea Lions would never again own the lead.
 
Azusa Pacific squelched any chance of a Point Loma comeback late in the game by going 9-of-10 at the free throw line in the final 75 seconds. APU finished the game 18-of-19 at the free throw line. PLNU only made it to the charity stripe five times (made three).
 
The Sea Lions held off the Cougars' 3-point attack in the first half, holding APU to 0-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. But in the second half the Cougars used the long ball early and often, making five of their first six, and 6-of-10 in the half. Point Loma did make 11 treys of its own (11-of-28), with Okhotin and Mike Planeta hitting three apiece.
 
Okhotin led the Sea Lions in scoring with 13 points and in assists with four. He was 5-of-11 from the field and 3-of-8 from long range. Judd Welfringer added 10 points and three assists for the Sea Lions.
 
Troy Leaf paced APU with 20 points and three 3-pointers. Robert Sandoval also had 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and Christian Katuala added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Sea Lions will look to bounce back quickly from this loss on national TV when they host California Baptist on Fox Sports West, Fox Sports San Diego and Prime Ticket in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 7:00 p.m.
 
This will be the second meeting between the Sea Lions and Lancers in a week. Last Saturday (Jan. 17), CBU edged PLNU 57-55 to break the Sea Lions seven-game winning streak. The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive a replica jersey t-shirt.