HONOLULU, Hawaii - The Point Loma men's basketball team shot 64 percent from the field and matched a season-high in points to earn a 93-83 win over the defending Pacific West Conference tournament champions, Chaminade, on Saturday, Jan. 3.
 
This was the second straight conference win for Point Loma (9-2) which evened its PacWest record at 2-2. The loss dropped Chaminade to 1-3 in conference (4-6 overall).
 
Hayden Lescault scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting to lead five Sea Lions in double-figures. He also added two steals and six assists. Marek Klassen scored 10 of his 15 points, and dished out three of his four assists, in the first half to help PLNU build a 46-33 halftime advantage.
 
Sam Okhotin was one point off his season-best with 16 points. Judd Welfringer was perfect from the floor, hitting 4-of-4 shots, en route to scoring 13 points. He also led the Sea Lions with seven rebounds, while handing out four assists. Junior Morgan reached double-figures for the seventh time in 10 contests with 11 points.
 
"It was great balance (offensively)," said Point Loma head coach Bill Carr. "The ball was moving and getting to the right guy at the right time, and it didn't look like anybody cared who scored as long as we scored."
 
Point Loma seemed to come into the game with a purpose and a focus as it scored on five of its first seven possessions to build an 11-4 lead three minutes into the game. PLNU would never relinquish its lead despite some late runs by the Silverswords. One such run cut the Sea Lions' lead to two points with 12 minutes left in the second half but PLNU answered with an 11-2 spurt to regain control of the contest and earn the road victory.
 
"The whole team came out with really good energy to start the game," Carr explained. "Good teams will make a run at you like Chaminade did, but we stuck our feet in the sand and held them off."
 
While Point Loma shot 64 percent from the field it held Chaminade to 47 percent shooting, including just 36 percent in the first half. PLNU also forced Chaminade into 16 turnovers, and the Silverswords had assists on just nine of their 27 baskets. Meanwhile, the Sea Lions hit 10-of-15 shots from long range, including three apiece from Klassen and Okhotin. Klassen was a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc. Chaminade took 27 treys in the game, making just nine.
 
"When you shoot 64 percent you are going to score some points," said Carr. "They got more aggressive as the second half started driving the ball and we had trouble with it. Then we were able to hit some shots late to pull away again."
 
"They score the ball so easy and have great balance on their squad; that is why I think this is an important win for us," Carr continued.
 
"The importance of this win is it is a conference game and you want to try and collect as many conference wins as possible," concluded Carr.
 
The Sea Lions will now prepare to face Hawaii Pacific (7-3, 3-2 PacWest) on Monday, Jan. 5. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. (PST).