SAN DIEGO - Kyler Nielson put back a missed layup with just four seconds left for his only basket of the night as Dixie State edged the Point Loma men's basketball team, 66-65, on Saturday, Dec. 5.
 
The loss snapped the Sea Lions (5-3, 1-1 PacWest) four-game winning streak and handed them their first PacWest-loss of the season.  The victory evened Dixie State's record at 4-4 on the season and at 1-1 in the PacWest.
 
That offensive rebound by Nielson was the 26th on the evening for Dixie State. The Red Storm dominated the glass, outrebounding Point Loma 55-36, including 26-6 on offensive end. DSU outscored PLNU 17-6 on second chance points, and 46-24 on points in the paint.
 
Mark Ogden Jr. led the way for Dixie State with 12 points and 17 rebounds. Ten of those rebounds came on the offensive glass as he individually counted for more offensive boards than the Sea Lions' team. Trevor Hill paced Dixie State with 16 points.
 
"This league is a beast and you better be ready to play every night," said Point Loma head coach Bill Carr. "We got manhandled tonight on the backboards. It is going to be tough to win games in this league if that continues. We are going to have to fix it, and we are going to have to fix it quick."
 
Despite the domination by Dixie State on the boards, Point Loma led most of the game by a slight margin. Dixie State took a one-point lead with 2:29 remaining and then after a series of defensive stops by both teams, PLNU found the right play call when Josh Rodriguez made a great pass to Tanner Lancona off a pick and roll for the go-ahead basket with 21 seconds remaining (65-64).
 
On Dixie's possession, the Sea Lions forced a tough, contested layup from Hill, which went to the far side of the rim. Nielson soared into the back of his own player taking both a Red Storm and Sea Lion player out in the process of making the game-winning basket.
 
Josh Rodriguez had a game-high 18 points and six assists for Point Loma. He was 6-of-12 from the field and 4-of-8 from the 3-point line. Zach Burnham came off the bench to score a season-best 12 points and grab a team-high seven rebounds, while also blocking a pair of shots. Mike Planeta and Tanner Lancona also chipped in with 10 and 12 points, respectively.
 
"I love the competitiveness of my team; they'll keep competing," said Point Loma head coach Bill Carr. "We will bounce back and learn from this, but we are going to have to fix (the rebounding)."
 
Point Loma's next game will be on the road against the newest member of the PacWest Conference and former Golden State Athletic Conference rival, Concordia (CA), on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.