FRESNO, Calif. – Josh Rodriguez played his most efficient game of the season to guide the Point Loma men's basketball team to a 78-56 road win at Fresno Pacific.  
 
Rodriguez scored a season-high 21 points. He went 6-of-7 from the field, 3-of-3 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. He also added six assists, two steals and a block. His effort set the pace for PLNU which shot .531 percent on the night.
 
Rodriguez got help from Ziggy Satterthwaite and Daulton Hommes as each posted a double-double. Satterthwaite registered his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Hommes had his first double-double in a Sea Lion uniform as he scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Preston Beverly was also in double figures with 16 points, to go along with his seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
Point Loma was up as many as nine points in the first half before FPU battled back to take a one-point lead at halftime (35-34). Coach Ryan Looney rallied the Sea Lions at the half and they dominated the final 20 minutes of the game. PLNU held FPU to just .286 percent shooting and 21 points in the second half. Meanwhile, Point Loma put up 44 points on .600 percent shooting, while outrebounding the Sunbirds 23-10.
 
Elijah Hill led Fresno Pacific with 21 points, but just six of those came after halftime.

Team Records
Point Loma (9-2, 5-0 PacWest), Fresno Pacific (3-6, 1-4 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
Point Loma keeps pace with Concordia and Chaminade atop the PacWest standings with the win. Both PLNU and Corcordia stand at 5-0 in the PacWest. Chaminade is 4-0 in conference and undefeated on the season at 9-0. Fresno Pacific falls to 1-4 in conference play.
 
The Turning Point
Trailing 43-42 with 16:04 remaining in the second half, the Sea Lions scored 11 straight points to take the lead and extend it into double figures. Five different student-athletes scored during the run and FPU would get closer than seven points and would score only 14 points the rest of the game.
 
Words from coach Looney
On Josh Rodriguez: "I think he had his overall most efficient game this year. Not only was he an efficient offensive player but he did a good job guarding Adrian Antunez, who hurt us when we played them last year."
 
On the four players in double-figures: "As we have gotten further into the season, and even more in conference play, our team has bought into moving the ball and taking good, available shots, rather than forcing things."
 
On halftime adjustments: "We wanted to get our guys that were off the ball into better help positions. We made a few changes with the defensive matchups and also spent a lot of time talking about our defensive box-outs."
 
On Sea Lions' defense: "In the first half our help defense was not very good. They were turning the corner and driving it to the paint. In the second half, we did a much better job helping each other out and clogging those gaps. A lot of the shots that were available for them in the first half were simply not there in the second half."
 
On starting PacWest play at 5-0: "We feel with the way that NCAA Division II breaks up the schedule with the mandatory Christmas break, this is the halfway point. We talked about in the locker room after the game and took a moment to celebrate being in first place at Christmas. You can't be any better than that spot right now."

News and Notes
> The Sea Lions' 5-0 start in PacWest play is the best in school history
> With two more steals tonight, Rodriguez moved within nine steals of PLNU's all-time record (182, Brett Psilopoulos)
> Point Loma has outrebounded its opponents in nine of 11 games this season (8-1)
> Point Loma went on a 12-4 run late in the second half after Hommes picked up his fourth foul
> The Sea Lions allowed just six points in the final nine minutes of the game
> PLNU has won its last eight meetings with the Sunbirds

Up Next
The Point Loma men's basketball team will be on a competition hiatus over the holidays. The Sea Lions will resume play on Saturday, Dec. 29 against Holy Names.