NCAA West Regional
Point Loma earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA West Regional after going 21-9 on the season season and 15-5 in the PacWest. This is PLNU's first-ever appearance in the men's basketball regional. The Sea Lions will face the No. 1 seed and tournament host, Western Oregon, in the first round of the tournament on Friday, Mar. 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Follow along
The NCAA West Regional will be available via live stats and video stream. All games can be accessed through portal.stretchinternet.com/wou

A look at the Sea Lions
The Point Loma men's basketball team was on a roll before hitting a bump at the end of their regular season. The Sea Lions had won 15 of 17 games, but dropped its regular season finale to Dixie State (76-65) and its opening game of the PacWest Tournament to Concordia (69-65).

The Sea Lions use a balanced scoring attack, with five players averaging in double-figures. Preston Beverly leads the team with 15.3 points per game, while shooting .526 percent from the field. He also paces the squad with 6.9 rebounds. Ziggy Satterthwaite is shooting .642 percent from the field while averaging 11.2 ppg and 6.4 rpg. Josh Rodriguez and Tanner Nelson are both averaging 10.4 ppg, and Sterling Somers sits at 10.0 ppg. 

As a team, PLNU led the PacWest in scoring defense and rebounding. The Sea Lions allowed just 64.3 ppg and outrebound their opponents by 11.8 rebounds per game. PLNU averages 73.8 ppg and shoots .481 percent.

Season series with Western Oregon
This will be the second meeting of the year between PLNU and WOU. The teams met back on Nov. 10 with Western Oregon pulling out the 70-69 win. Point Loma led early but the Wolves put together a 42-14 run to take the lead. PLNU fought back and had a chance to win the game on a last-second shot, but Rodriguez's layup fell off the rim. 

Dominating the glass
The Point Loma men's basketball team led all of NCAA Division II in rebound margin this season. PLNU outrebounded its opponents by 11.8 boards per game to win the category by .1 rpg over Texas-Permian Basin. The Sea Lions outrebounded its opponents in 26 of its 30 games. PLNU lost all four games it did not win the rebound battle.

Nothing comes easy
The Sea Lions' scoring defense was the best in the PacWest and the seventh best in the country. PLNU held opponents to just 64.1 points per game and only six times in 30 games did the Sea Lions allow over 70 points. Point Loma was also second in the PacWest in blocks, with 4.2 per game.

Road warriors
The road has been kind to the Sea Lions this season. PLNU has won eight straight games on the road and have not lost on an opponents' home court in 2018. 

The magic number 
The key for this team is getting to 70 points. The Sea Lions are 16-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points. When PLNU fails to hit the 70-point mark, the Sea Lions are 5-9. 

PLNU vs. regional opponents
The Sea Lions have seen their fair share of teams in NCAA Regionals this season. Point Loma faced fellow PacWest opponents Dixie State (#2), California Baptist (#3) and Azusa Pacific (#7) each for two games this season. PLNU also played Western Oregon (#1) and Saint Martin's (#5) in the PacWest/GNAC Conference Challenge, and opened up its home season against UC San Diego (#6). Additionally, Jefferson (#8) won its conference tournament to earn a spot in the East Regional. PLNU is 2-8 in these games. 

Rodriguez and the record
On Jan. 25, 2018, Josh Rodriguez set the PacWest career assist record when he passed Joshua Crum of Holy Names with his 453 career assist. He has since added to that total giving himself 493 in his career with one season still left.

Rising up
When they finished tied for third in the final conference standings, this marked the best-ever finish for the Sea Lions in PacWest. PLNU went 15-5 in conference play this year to eclipse the 13 wins and fifth-place finish it posted during the 2014-15 season. 

Life with Looney
In the first two seasons with Ryan Looney on the sideline, the PLNU men's basketball team has posted a 38-22 record and earned both their highest conference finish and highest regional ranking. 

Other PLNU team and player notes
> The 2016-17 season was the first time a Ryan Looney coached team failed to make the NCAA West Regional
> Looney took his SPU team to the regional final three straight seasons (2011, 2012, 2013)
> PLNU currently has three conference Freshmen of the Year on their roster in Somers, Rodriguez, Beverly (GNAC)
> Point Loma is 15-4 with Beverly coming off the bench

Complete release
Click here to see the complete packet of PLNU game notes for the NCAA West Regional.