LA MIRADA, Calif. - It was looking like it was going to be an easy night for the Sea Lions as they led 45-25 at the half, but the No. 6 regional ranked Point Loma men's basketball team had to withstand a strong second-half charge by Biola to earn a 79-67 victory on the road.
 
The Sea Lions hit seven of their first 10 shots from behind the arc to build their 20-point halftime lead. Biola made the necessary halftime adjustments and used a 27-9 run to cut PLNU's lead to two (54-52) with 10:38 remaining. Point Loma responded shortly after with an 11-2 run, which pushed its lead back to double-digits at 69-56, before sealing its eighth-straight road victory at the charity stripe.
 
Sterling Somers led five Sea Lions in double-figures with 16 points. Skyler White had 12 points, three blocks and a game-high nine rebounds. Tanner Nelson knocked down four of the team's 10 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Josh Rodriguez posted 13 points and added to his PacWest career record with eight more assists. Yusuf Shehata and Preston Beverly added eight and 10 points, respectively, off the bench. Michael Bagatourian paced Biola and all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
 
Team Records
Point Loma (20-7, 14-4 PacWest), Biola (11-15, 5-13 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
After securing a spot in the PacWest tournament earlier this week, PLNU is jostling for positioning atop the standings. The win puts the Sea Lions in a tie for third place with Azusa Pacific at 14-4. However, APU would have the tiebreaker if the teams finish the season tied. The loss drops Biola to 11th in the PacWest.
 
The Turning Point
After Biola cut the lead to 54-52 and had the ball with a chance to take its first lead of the second half, PLNU's defense stepped up. It held the Eagles without a basket on six of the next eight possessions, allowing PLNU to extend its lead from two up to 13 (69-56). The lead would never fall below nine the rest of the game.
 
Words from Coach Looney
On first half: "I felt we played really well in the first half. Their game plan was to take away the post and fortunately we made our open shots."
 
On the second half: "Big halftime leads have not been good for us recently. We relaxed defensively and it took a little time to get ourselves going again, but we got back to what we were doing in the first half the last five or six minutes of the game. We were able to get a couple crucial stops and were fortunate to make enough free throws down the stretch."
 
On balanced scoring: "It was nice that other guys stepped up with our big guys in foul trouble the entire game."
 
News and Notes
> Point Loma is 15-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points
> The Sea Lions have not lost on the road since Dec. 9
> This was the sixth straight win for Point Loma
> PLNU has now shot 50 percent or better in five of its past six games
> This was the 296th career win for coach Ryan Looney
> It was PLNU's first season sweep of Biola since 2006-07
 
Up Next
The Point Loma men's basketball team will return home to close out its season with two more games. PLNU will host Hawaii Hilo on Saturday, Feb. 17, and Dixie State on Saturday, Feb. 24. Both games will tipoff at 4 p.m.