Sea Lions earn No. 6 seed in PacWest Tournament
The Point Loma men's basketball team earned the No. 6 seed in the upcoming PacWest Conference Tournament in Irvine, Calif., after finishing the regular season at 15-12 and tied for sixth place in the PacWest standings (11-9). The Sea Lions will open against the No. 3 seed Dixie State on Thursday, Mar. 2 at 12:30 p.m.
 
The PacWest Championships [Tickets] 
The quarterfinals begin on Thursday, followed by the semifinals on Friday and finals on Saturday. Each day's schedule will alternate between men's and women's games in the first two rounds. Tickets are available for purchase online now (CLICK HERE), with single-game tickets for $12 and all-tournament passed for $29. (Online purchases are the only way to pay with credit/debit card, cash only at the event). Student tickets will be sold at the door only for $5. Children 12 and under receive free admission. [Men's bracket] [Women's bracket]
 
WatchESPN will broadcast PacWest Championships
The finals of the 2017 PacWest Men's and Women's Basketball Championship tournaments will be streamed nationally on WatchESPN and the ESPN app as the culmination of the Division II Basketball Showcase. The games will be played at CU Arena on the campus of Concordia University Irvine on Saturday, March 4, with the women at 2 p.m. and the men at 4:30 p.m.
 
Follow along
If you are unable to attend the tournament, you can follow on live stats and live video. Live stats will be free of charge. To access both live stats and live video visit portal.stretchinternet.com/pacwest.
 
Rubber game of the series
The Sea Lions and Trailblazers will meet for the third time during the 2016-17 season. The teams played to overtime in St. George, with Dixie State edging PLNU 83-80. Later in the season, Sea Lions defended their home court as they came back from a halftime-deficit to win, 68-64. This rubber match will decide who will move on to face the No. 2 seed, California Baptist, and who goes home.
 
A look at the Sea Lions
Point Loma went 15-12 and tied for sixth in the PacWest (11-9) in coach Ryan Looney's first season. The Sea Lions closed out the regular season with a 77-71 upset of No. 5 California Baptist on Fox Sports television. PLNU trailed by 10 with just under six minutes remaining but closed out the game on a 23-7 run to earn the victory. Josh Rodriguez had 16 points, seven assists and three steals in the contest. Zach Burnham added a team-high 17 points and Mike Planeta chipped in with 15.
 
Rodriguez continues to lead the Sea Lions and rank 13th in the PacWest with 15.4 points per game. He leads the league with 5.5 assists and ranks 13th in steals (1.7). He has scored in double-figures in 23 of 27 contests. Vince Boumann leads the with 9.0 rebounds per game. He is shooting 62.3 percent from the field (second PacWest) and averages 13.9 ppg.
 
As a team, Point Loma is averaging 75.2 ppg (ninth PacWest) and allowing 73.9 ppg (sixth PacWest). PLNU is outrebounding its opponents by 6.9 boards per game. The Sea Lions are 14-7 in games they win the rebounding battle (1-3 when losing it).
 
A look at the Trailblazers
Dixie State finished 19-7 in 2016-17. The Trailblazers took third place in the PacWest standings with a 16-4 record and are currently No. 3 in the latest NCAA West Regional poll. DSU has won eight of its 10 games since last playing the Sea Lions. The Trailblazers went 8-2 in those contests with the only losses coming against No. 8 Cal Baptist and No. 6 Hawaii Pacific.
 
All-PacWest first team selection Trevor Hill does everything for the Trailblazers. He ranks in the top 20 in the PacWest in scoring (16th; 14.2 ppg), rebounding (sixth; 7.1), assists (second; 5.0) and steals (12th; 1.5). He also leads the league and ranks eighth in the country in free throws. As a team, Dixie State is sixth in the PacWest in scoring (77.3 ppg) and third in scoring defense (71.3). The Trailblazers have taken and made the second-least number of 3-pointers this season (ARTU), averaging 4.5 3-pointers per game while shooting 32.5 percent from behind the arc.
 
Rivalry continues
This season is not the first time that a game between Point Loma and Dixie State has come down to the wire as six of the last seven meetings have been decided by five points or less, naturally creating one of the best unspoken about rivalries in the PacWest. 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.
 
PLNU at the PacWest
This will be the Sea Lions second appearance in the PacWest Championships after becoming eligible for NCAA postseason play prior to the 2014-15 season. PLNU earned the No. 5 seed in its previous appearance. It fell in the first round to No. 4 seed BYU-Hawaii, which would go on to win the PacWest Championship.
 
Rodriguez named All-PacWest; Somers earns Freshman of the Year
Josh Rodriguez was named second team All-PacWest and Sterling Somers was selected as the PacWest Freshman of the Year by the league's coaches (Mar. 1). This marks the second straight season Rodriguez has earned All-PacWest honors, and it is also the second consecutive year a Sea Lion has earned PacWest Freshman of the Year. Rodriguez, a sophomore point guard from La Habra, Calif. (Sonora HS), averaged 15.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and a PacWest-leading 5.5 assists per game. Somers averaged 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and totaled 31 assists and 17 steals. He won three-straight PacWest Freshman of the Week honors during a string of six-consecutive double-digit scoring performances. [All-PacWest team]
 
Next games
If the Sea Lions win, their season would continue on Friday, Mar. 3 against No. 2 seed California Baptist at 2:45 p.m. If they lose their 2016-17 season is done.