HILO, Hawaii - Every member of the Point Loma men's basketball team is walking away with some bruises after a hard-fought, 72-68 victory over Hawaii Hilo on Wednesday, Jan. 7, but they are also walking away from Hawaii with a perfect 3-0 road trip.
This was the fifth straight win for PLNU which improved to 4-2 in the Pacific West Conference and to 11-2 overall. The loss snapped the Vulcans' three-game conference winning streak and dropped them to 7-6 on the season, and to 3-4 in the PacWest.
For the third straight game the Sea Lions started quickly as it shot 52 percent in the first half and built a 15-point halftime lead (41-26). They picked apart the Vulcans' zone in the first 20 minutes making 8-of-13 shots from behind 3-point range. The second half would be a different story on both sides.
The Vulcans came out of the locker room and went into a tight man-to-man defense in which they pressed up on all five Sea Lions the entire length of the floor. That pressure changed the rhythm of the game. UHH shot 61 percent from the field in the second half (14-of-23), while PLNU hit just 36 percent of its shots (9-of-25). The Vulcans continued to chip away at the Sea Lions lead until they closed the gap to just one point (66-65) with 1:29 remaining.
On their next possession PLNU isolated
Hayden Lescault and he was able to draw a foul and knock down a pair of free throws to put Point Loma back up by three (68-65). After a basket by the Vulcans brought the back to one point the teams exchanged free throws, then Lescault went back to the charity stripe and hit both shots to put the Sea Lions up 71-68 with 22 seconds remaining.
Hawaii Hilo came down the court with the chance to tie the game. Their point guard Joey Rodriguez took the ball to the left side of the court and got the switch off with the Sea Lions' big forward
Junior Morgan guarding him. However, Rodriguez chose to kick the ball to the corner for a 3-point attempt from the Vulcans' big man Darius Johnson-Wilson. PLNU challenged Johnson-Wilson's shot and it skipped off the rim where
Judd Welfringer grabbed the crucial rebound with 4.7 seconds left.
Randall Jackson then made 1-of-2 free throws to seal the game.
"They certainly got out after us (in the second half)," said Point Loma head coach
Bill Carr. "They made plays offensively and defensively to get back in the game. We knew they were going to make a run at us. We made some plays late in the game that helped us hold on.
"I thought we got a good stop late when we were up 3 late," Carr continued. "We had good pressure on the ball, contested on their 3-pointer and got a really, really good rebound. We made some plays down the stretch that allowed us to get the win."
Sam Okhotin continued his hot shooting to lead the team with 21 points. He went 8-of-15 from the field, including hitting 5-of-10 from behind the arc. He also grabbed six rebounds and handed out three assists. Lescault put up 19 points by shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, while also grabbing six rebounds. He went 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 68 seconds.
Judd Welfringer led the Sea Lions with eight boards, including two critical rebounds with under 90 seconds left. He also was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from 3-point range.
Point Loma made a season-best 11 treys in the game. It went 11-of-22 from behind the arc and five different Sea Lions made a 3-pointer.
"For most of the trip the ball was getting to the open guy," said Carr. "Credit our guys for sharing the ball, being unselfish and finding the guy who might have the hot-hand at the time."
Point Loma outrebounded the Vulcans by 12 (37-25), including 13-6 on the offensive glass.
This is the first time Point Loma has gone undefeated in Hawaii during its three seasons in the PacWest Conference. The Sea Lions are the only PacWest team to sweep the road trip this season.
"Any win in this conference you will take," Carr explained. "I am proud of our guys. We really came together on this trip. Our chemistry is at an all-time high for the season and they came away with three hard fought wins."
Point Loma will now return home to host Dominican (CA) in conference game on Monday, Jan. 12. They will also welcome in Academy of Art on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Both games will tipoff at 7:30 p.m.
