SAN DIEGO - Five Sea Lions reached double-figures against crosstown foe San Diego Christian, but that did not mean the victory came easy for the Point Loma men's basketball team, as it held off multiple late charges from the Hawks to squeeze out an 89-82 non-conference win on Thursday, Dec. 29.
 
The win evens the Sea Lions' season record at 6-6 (2-3 PacWest). San Diego Christian remains at 4-7 (0-2 GSAC) as they used tonight as an exhibition game.
 
Vince Boumann led the way for PLNU with 19 points and seven rebounds. He went 7-of-8 from the field to help Point Loma shoot 58.8 percent in the game. Zach Burnham came off the bench to go 6-for-6 and rack up 14 points. Josh Rodriguez and Sterling Somers also chipped in with 13 points apiece, and Mike Planeta added 12 points of his own.
 
The Hawks were led by 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from Derek Novsek. Luis Salgado added 19 points and five rebounds. Isaiah Milan (13) and Caleb Singleton (14) also reached double-figures for SDC. Despite losing the rebounding battle 40-25 and allowing the Sea Lions to shoot nearly 59 percent from the field, the Hawks were able to stay in the contest by meticulously taking care of the basketball. San Diego Christian had only three turnovers in the game, and just one after halftime.
 
"I don't think I have ever seen a turnover total that low," said Point Loma head coach Ryan Looney, "and it is directly related to our inability to exert a whole lot of effort on the defensive end."
 
San Diego Christian shot 47.6 percent from the field in the game, including 52.9 percent in the second half as it cut PLNU's 10-point halftime lead (42-32) down to two points with just over 11 minutes remaining.
 
Point Loma would go on a 7-0 spurt to push its lead back into double-digits (72-61) with 4:42 remaining but still the Hawks would not go away. They cut the lead to five points three different times in the final five minutes, and to four points with 29 seconds left (83-79), but the Sea Lions answered by going 11-of-13 from the free throw line in the final 1:11 to preserve the victory.
 
"I was happy that our guys were able to make some big free throws down the stretch," added Looney.
 
This was the seventh time on 12 games this season that the contest has been decided by seven points or less. PLNU is now 3-4 in those close games.
 
PLNU will now jump back into PacWest play. It will travel to the Bay Area to face Holy Names on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m., and Dominican on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m.
 
"It would be nice to see us bring a competitive spirit (to the Bay Area)," said Looney. "It has been something that we have had a hard time consistently bringing every day."