HONOLULU – The Point Loma men's basketball team had a chance to make a statement and prove that its No. 11 ranking in NCAA Division II basketball is well deserved. The Sea Lions seized that opportunity on Thursday night with a 75-71 road victory over No. 19 Chaminade.
It was not an easy task to deliver the Silverswords their first home loss of the year. Chaminade built a nine-point lead in the first half before Point Loma battled back with a 15-2 run to trail by just one (39-38) at the half.
Point Loma then opened the second half on a 16-5 run to take a 10-point lead. Hommes scored 10 of the Sea Lions' 16 points during the run, and they would never again trail, despite multiple comeback attempts by No. 19 Chaminade.
Four different times the Silverswords cut the Sea Lions' lead to five points, but each time PLNU had the answer and did not relinquish the lead. A 3-pointer by Roman Young cut PLNU's lead to four points (75-71) with 27 seconds left. After Point Loma missed the frontend of a 1-and-1, Chaminade got the ball back with nine seconds left, but they did not have a miracle finish in them tonight, and the Sea Lions hung on for the win in its first top 25 matchup of the season.
Hommes hit 10-of-16 shots from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, to lead all scorers with 28 points.
Preston Beverly just missed a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. He added five assists, two blocks, and three steals. Satterthwaite chipped in with 11 points and eight boards. Tyler Cartaino led three Silverswords in scoring with 20 points.
Team Records
Point Loma (15-2, 11-0 PacWest), Chaminade (13-3, 7-3 PacWest)
PacWest Implications
Point Loma and second-place Concordia both won on Thursday night. PLNU (11-0) currently holds a 1.5 game lead over the Eagles (9-1) atop the conference standings. The win extended the Sea Lions' lead over third place Chaminade (7-3) to 3.5 games.
Turning Point
Point Loma seized control of the game with the way it closed the first half and opened the second half. PLNU went on a 33-14 run from 6:29 in the first half until 13:05 in the second half. That 13:24-minute stretch allowed the Sea Lions to turn a nine-point deficit into a 10-point lead, a lead PLNU would never surrender.
Words from coach Looney
On adjustments made throughout the game: "We felt we really struggled the first 10 minutes of the game. Offensively we didn't take care of the ball, and on defense, we struggled with our blockouts. We made a few adjustments to sharing the ball on offense, and we went to a zone defensively, which got us back in the game. Hommes went off early in the second half, and we started running stuff to get the ball in his hands."
On the Sea Lions' defensive effort: "Our plan was to make it hard for (Erik) Sheive and (Grant) Dressler. We held Dressler to 5-of-23 from the floor. I thought
Tanner Nelson and
Noah Stapes did a good job contesting everything on him. Part of our plan to guard Scheive was to go at him on offense and get him in foul trouble. He ended up with four fouls and spent 10 minutes in the first half on the bench with three fouls."
On defending the 3-pointer: "We have a good group of guys with a lot of length. Sometimes it is hard for an opponent to shoot over those long contests every time. It has to do with the personnel we have more than exactly what we are doing on defense."
On closing out the trip against Hawaii Hilo: "A large part of our talk after the game was that anytime you can beat a top 25 team on the road it is special, but we have had a fantastic time as a group on this trip, and we know that it is only going to stay special if we can get the last game too."
News and Notes
> The nine-point deficit in the first half matched the second-largest for the Sea Lions all season (13 vs. UCSD)
> PLNU is 5-0 in its last five games in Hawaii
> This was Point Loma's second win over a top 25 team this season (No. 15 UCSD)
> Hommes has scored in double figures in all 17 games this season
> Point Loma is 14-0 in games in which it makes as many free throws as its opponent has attempts
Up Next
The No. 11 Point Loma men's basketball team will close out its three-game road trip at Hawaii Hilo (7-6, 5-4 PacWest) on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 9:30 p.m. (PST).
