This week
A nice rivalry between Point Loma and Dixie State men's basketball has built up over the years with six of the last seven games being decided by five points or less, and the last two going to overtime. The Sea Lions will welcome the Trailblazers into Golden Gym for one of the last times as a member of the PacWest on Saturday at 4 p.m., as Dixie State will be leaving the conference in two season. DSU currently leads the PacWest with a conference mark of 8-1 (11-4 overall). PLNU is sixth with a 5-3 record in PacWest play and have improved to 9-6 overall with four straight wins.
 
Follow along
If you are unable to attend this week's game, listen to the broadcast, called by Point Loma alum Judson Richards, host of the Hardwick & Richards Show, live on XTRA Sports 1360 AM or through iHeart Radio. This game, just as all other PacWest games this season, they will all be available for fans to follow on live stats and live video. Live stats will be free of charge while video stream will vary in price based on the venue. PLNU home games are $8.95 on a pay-per-view basis and include the broadcast from Judson Richards. To access both live stats and live video visit plnusealions.com/gameday. [Radio feed] [Live stats] [Live video]
 
Rivalry renewed
PLNU-DSU has been one of the best unspoken about rivalries on the hardwood in the PacWest since Point Loma joined Dixie State in the league prior to the 2012-13 season. After one year of getting their feet under them, the Sea Lions have played Dixie State down to the wire nearly every time. In 2013-14, after a two-point loss on road to the No. 8 Trailblazers early in the season, Point Loma got its revenge at home as AJ Ussery gathered in an offensive rebound and put in a layup with 0.3 seconds left to give the Sea Lions a 65-63 win. After another road bump in 2014-15, PLNU looked to have Dixie State in its second game of conference play last season but Kyler Nielson tipped in a missed shot with four second left to edge Point Loma 66-65. Later in the year, the Sea Lions went on the road and knocked off Dixie in overtime, 76-72, for their first win ever in Burns Arena. Six Sea Lions scored at least nine points, led by 15 from Mike Planeta and 14 from Zach Burnham. The game earlier this season would also go to overtime as PLNU proved the win at Burns was no fluke earlier this season as they stormed back a late deficit to force overtime on a layup by Josh Rodriguez. However, the Trailblazers outlasted the Sea Lions in the extra frame to earn the 83-80 victory.
 
A look at the Sea Lions
Point Loma (9-6, 5-3 PacWest) puts its four-game winning streak on the line Saturday. The Sea Lions have not lost since the Christmas break, which includes winning their last three in conference play.  All four wins have come by single-digits.
 
Josh Rodriguez is averaging 19.0 points per game during the winning streak and has climbed to seventh in the PacWest with 17.4 ppg on the season. He is tied for the league lead in assists with 5.4 per game and is ninth in steals (1.5). Vince Boumann is tied for the league lead with 8.5 boards per game. He is also second in field goal percentage (.640) and 18th in scoring (13.4). Sterling Somers has won three straight PacWest Freshman of the Week awards and is now averaging 8.7 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds.
 
As a team, Point Loma is second in the PacWest and 21st in the country in rebounding margin at 7.2 per game. It has always been a stat Ryan Looney-coached teams have prided themselves on, and during last two seasons at Seattle Pacific, his teams led the NCAA in that category. The Sea Lions are averaging 76.3 points per game and are shooting 45.2 percent from the field.
 
A look at the Trailblazers
Dixie State (11-4, 8-1 PacWest) is the hottest team in the conference, winning its last six games. Those have not all been easy, as has traditionally been the style of DSU, as it always seems to be in tightly contested games. This year, the Trailblazers have already played four overtime games and 11 of their 15 games have been decided by seven points or less. Dixie State leads the conference and ranks fourth in NCAA Division II in free throw attempts. It is also 20th in field goal percentage defense (40.0) and 32nd in 3-point percentage defense (31.2).
 
Trevor Hill has been doing a little of everything for the Trailblazers this year. He leads the PacWest in assist-to-turnover ratio, while tying with Josh Rodriguez for assists per game. Hill is also seventh in the PacWest with 7.1 rebounds per game and 15th with 14.8 points per game. He is third in the country with 144 free throw attempts on the season and leads the PacWest in minutes played. Josh Fuller (13.2) and Brandon Simister (12.5) are also scoring in double-figures for the Trailblazers, which averaged 77.6 ppg.
 
Next games
Point Loma will head to Azusa, Calif., on Monday for a contest against longtime foe Azusa Pacific. The game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. PLNU will then return home to begin a six-game homestand starting against Concordia on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m.