[Photo gallery]

SAN DIEGO - With the bright lights on and one of the top teams in the PacWest Conference coming into Golden Gym, the Point Loma men's basketball team rose to the occasion with their best offensive game of the season to defeat Hawaii Pacific, 87-65, in the NCAA Division II Showcase on ESPN. (Jan. 13)
 
PLNU got 26 points and four blocks from Preston Beverly off the bench to pace all scorers. He was 9-of-11 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. Sterling Somers added 17 points, and Ziggy Satterthwaite posted his second double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. Josh Rodriguez knocked down a season-high three 3-pointers and scored 13 points to go along with three assists and three steals.  Jonathan Janssen led Hawaii Pacific with 20 points.
 
The Sea Lions came out of the gate firing on all cylinders offensively. After missing their first two 3-point attempts, PLNU knocked four straight treys (three by Somers) and got two layups to jump in front 16-6, and it never relinquished the lead. The Sea Lions led 46-36 at half as Yusuf Shehata made a coast-to-coast driving layup right before the buzzer. HPU would cut the lead to eight (57-49) with 12:00 left but Point Loma put together a 17-5 run to extinguish any hope of a Sharks' comeback.
 
Team Records
Point Loma (13-6, 7-3 PacWest), Hawaii Pacific (9-6, 4-3 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
Point Loma has now won seven of its last eight PacWest games. It is currently fifth in the PacWest standings at 7-3, but the seven wins also matches California Baptist and Azusa Pacific for the most in the league. The loss sends Hawaii Pacific to sixth place at 4-3.
 
The Turning Point
After Hawaii Pacific cut the Sea Lions' lead to eight at 57-49 and had the ball following a turnover, things could have spiraled downward quickly for PLNU. However, coach Looney calmed his team during the media timeout that followed the turnover and they had one of their best offensive sequences of the game. The Sea Lions scored on each of their next five possessions, highlighted by steal and a dunk from Tanner Nelson to add to the 17-5 run which extended the lead from eight to 20 points with 5:43 remaining.
 
Words from Coach Looney
On the opportunity to play on ESPN: "This was a great day not just the basketball program, but for Point Loma Nazarene University. PLNU has as beautiful location as anyone in the country, and it got to be seen by people all over the world tonight. I am just happy that our guys could glorify that."
 
On offensive execution: "It has taken a long time for all of our guys to get on the same page on offense. Up to this point we have been hanging our hat on our defense and our rebounding, but I think if we can continue to move in the direction we did offensively tonight I think we can be a tough team to beat the rest of the way."
 
On rebounding effort against a bigger team: "Rebounding is not about size it is about will. Us and Hawaii Pacific are two of the top 3 rebounding teams in the PacWest. We made the rebounding the single-most important part of our game plan. The team that wins the rebounding war was going to win the game. Tonight we were plus-16 on the boards, were able to take 12 more shots, and that usually results in a 20-point win."
 
On the hot start: "I was very proud of our guys for preparing for this game the right way. We watched film and said there was a chance they would zone us right off the bat, and our guys were ready for it."
 
On Preston Beverly's performance: "That performance had a lot to do with the fact that he has gotten to the point that he is completely bought in. He trusts that we are going to get him the ball in the right spots and he sees he can be efficient in those areas."
 
On next game: "Concordia is a completely different style than we saw tonight. We are going to have to handle their pressure and not allow them to speed us up."
 
News and Notes
> The victory snapped the Sea Lions' five-game losing streak vs. Hawaii Pacific, including the 2017 PacWest Championship
> The 10 turnovers matched a season-low
> PLNU is 7-1 with Preston Beverly coming off the bench
> The Sea Lions are 10-1 when posting more assists than their opponent
> Josh Rodriguez is now within five assists of matching the all-time PacWest assist record
> PLNU is 7-0 in conference play when scoring over 60 points
> Point Loma has won the rebounding battle in 17 of 19 games this season
 
Up Next
The Point Loma men's basketball team will head up to Irvine, Calif., to face Concordia on Thursday, Jan. 18. PLNU defeated Concordia 76-68 in overtime at home on Jan. 3 to pick up its first win against the Eagles in 10 seasons.