SAN DIEGO - The No. 6 regionally ranked Point Loma men's basketball team made quick work of an exhausted Hawaii Hilo team, putting up a season-high for points in a 104-53 win over the Vulcans. (Feb. 17)
 
Skyler White recorded career-highs in points and rebounds to lead six Sea Lions in double-figures. He scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, which included a pair of 3-pointers. The senior also grabbed 15 rebounds (14 defensively) to post his third double-double of the season. Preston Beverly was 8-of-11 from the field and led all scorers with 20 points. Yusuf Shehata came off the bench and knocked down a game-high three 3-pointers as PLNU shot 11-of-20 from behind the arc. He logged 11 points and also had five assists. Josh Rodriguez (14), Ziggy Satterthwaite (12) and Sterling Somers (10) all joined them in double-figures.
 
Point Loma shot .533 percent in the first half to build a 41-26 halftime lead. PLNU came out of the locker room even better. The Sea Lions went 21-of-26 from the field (.808 percent) in the second half to extend their 15-point halftime lead into the 50's by game's end.
 
The PLNU bench outscored Hawaii Hilo's 42-14 as Point Loma went on to nearly double up the Vulcans in shooting percentage (.661-.333), rebounds (41-23) and made baskets (37-18).
 
Team Records
Point Loma (21-7, 15-4 PacWest), Hawaii Hilo (6-19, 5-13 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
The seventh straight win for Point Loma allowed the Sea Lions to keep pace in the PacWest standings. PLNU, which has already clinch a spot in the PacWest tournament, is currently third place in the standings, a half-game ahead of Azusa Pacific (14-4), and 1.5 games back of first-place Dixie State (14-2). UHH falls into a tie for 10th with the loss.
 
The Turning Point
After holding big leads at halftime and letting it slip away the past two games, Point Loma made sure that would not happen again today. PLNU extended its 15-point halftime lead (41-26) with a 26-7 run to start the second half. It pushed the lead into the 30's in the first six minutes of the second half.
 
Words from Coach Looney
On Skyler White: "He has played extremely well recently and with some of the injuries we have had we really need him."
 
On coming out of halftime strong: "We have been talking about putting 40 minutes together since the Biola game. That was a huge part of our focus tonight. Regardless of what the scoreboard said, we wanted to play on both ends one possession at a time and empty the tank with our effort."
 
On second half execution: "Our team has been doing a really good job offensively of playing together. Every guy is making a little bit of a sacrifice to make sure we aren't just getting good shots, but great ones. We have really come a long way in that area since the start of the season."
 
On if team is peaking at the right time? "I think we will find out next Saturday against a high-level team in Dixie State."
 
News and Notes
> Point Loma is 16-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points
> The Sea Lions have not lost on the road since Dec. 9
> This was the seventh straight win for Point Loma
> The .661 shooting percentage was a season-high and marks the third time PLNU has gone over .600 percent this season
> PLNU shot .808 percent in the second half (21-of-26), including going 6-of-7 from 3-point range
> This was the 297th career win for coach Ryan Looney
> The 104 points were a season-high for PLNU, and the first time its topped the century mark
 
Up Next
The Point Loma men's basketball team will close out the 2017-18 regular season against PacWest-leaders, Dixie State, next Saturday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m.