HONOLULU, Hawaii - Across all levels of basketball the message has always been the same; if you don't turn the ball over you will win. That age-old basketball proverb was on full display tonight as the Point Loma men's basketball team had just five turnovers, its lowest total in over 12 years, en route to an impressive 84-58 win at Hawaii Pacific on Jan. 5.
 
This was the fourth straight win for the Sea Lions which improved to 10-2 on the season and 3-2 in the Pacific West Conference. The loss evens the Sharks' record at 3-3 in the PacWest and drops them to 7-4 overall.
 
Sam Okhotin led a fast start for PLNU by scoring 13 of his game-high 22 points in the first half. He went 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-10 from 3-point range to finish one point off his career-high. The six treys in game are the most for a Sea Lion since the 2011-12 season when both Marek Klassen and current assistant coach Wil Bush made seven 3-pointers in separate contests.
 
"Sam got himself into really good spots tonight and he made some shots," said Point Loma head coach Bill Carr. "Credit the other guys for finding him when he was open. But even more importantly I thought Sam had a great defensive game."
 
It was not just Okhotin with the hot-hand however, as PLNU shot 56 percent and four other student-athletes scored in double-figures. Klassen and Hayden Lescault scored 15 and 16 points, respectively. Lescault had seven rebounds and is averaging 18.5 points per game in Hawaii. Klassen extended his 3-point streak to 42 straight games dating back to last year. He went 6-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from behind the arc. He also added five rebounds and four assists.
 
"We came out with good energy and concentration," Carr explained. "The ball was moving well and getting to the right guy.
 
"We are sharing the ball," continued Carr. "If you share the ball you are probably going to get good looks and that is what we are doing right now."
 
The five turnovers were the Sea Lions' lowest total dating back to prior to the 2002-03 season.  No PLNU student-athlete had more than one turnover in the game.
 
Other keys for PLNU were its bench play and its domination inside the paint. Sea Lions got 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds off the bench from Zach Burnham who made 6-of-7 shots in the game. Randall Jackson also had 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench. Burnham, Jackson and all the Sea Lions kept attacking the rim all evening and outscored the Sharks 48-20 inside the paint, including 30-6 in the first half.
 
"Zach gave us a good lift off the bench," noted Carr. "He came in with good energy and passion. He really rebounded and defended for us tonight."
 
On the other side of the ball, PLNU held HPU to just 58 points, its second-lowest total of the season. It also forced the Sharks into 13 turnovers which the Sea Lions converted into 16 points to outscore HPU 16-2 in points off turnovers. Luke Hager led Hawaii Pacific with 18 points and nine rebounds. Josh Morgan scored 17 points off the bench and was the only other HPU student-athlete in double-figures.
 
"Defensively we did a good job helping each other and finishing possessions with good block outs," Carr said.
 
After HPU scored the first basket of the game, PLNU rattled off 13 straight points and would never again trail in the contest. PLNU extended its lead to 16 points at the half with a 6-0 run to close the opening period. The Sea Lions then opened the second half on a 20-7 run to extend their lead to 29 points. HPU would never again get closer than 17.
 
"Any road win, any conference win you get you take it and move on," concluded Carr.
 
The Sea Lions will now travel to Hawaii Hilo to face the Vulcans on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 9:30 p.m. (PST) to close out its Hawaii road trip.