SAN DIEGO – The Point Loma men's basketball team clinched its first-ever PacWest Conference Championship, and the school's first men's basketball conference title since 1986-87, with a 91-71 victory over Fresno Pacific. (Feb. 23)
 
The win secured at least a share of the PacWest title as the 16th-ranked Sea Lions lead second-place Concordia by one game with one game to play. The PacWest does not break ties in the regular season standings.
 
Preston Beverly paced PLNU to the win with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He also pulled down eight rebounds, handed out two assists, blocked three shots and had two steals. Tanner Nelson and Daulton Hommes joined him in double-figures with 11 and 15 points, respectively.
 
The win was not easy by any means as Fresno Pacific came into Golden Gym looking to play the role of spoiler. The Sunbirds built an early lead (13-9) but were unable to hold off the offensive firepower of the Sea Lions.
 
Point Loma shot .586 percent in the first half to build a 44-35 halftime lead. Hommes came out hot to start the second half. He scored the Sea Lions first seven points of the period and then assisted on a 3-pointer by Beverly as PLNU pushed its lead to 14 points. FPU would never again cut the deficit to single digits.
 
Elijah Hill and Jake Straughan scored 16 points apiece to lead the Sunbirds.
 
Team Records
#16 Point Loma (23-4, 19-2 PacWest), Fresno Pacific (11-15, 8-13 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
The win locked up at least a share of the 2018-19 PacWest Championship for the Sea Lions. PLNU can clinch the title outright with a victory next Saturday at home against second-place Concordia (18-3 PacWest).
 
Words from coach Looney
On the journey to win the PacWest Championship: "We have done a lot of work over the course of the past three years to get to this point. At times we fought through adversity, injury, and culture. I am really proud of our guys for fighting through and getting us to the point where we are at."
 
More on the PacWest Championship: "We are excited about clinching a share of the conference title, but we know we have a long season still left."
 
On Fresno Pacific: "A lot of credit goes to Fresno Pacific tonight. They ran a lot of stuff at us that was difficult for us to guard. There were stretches where we weren't good enough defensively, but we grinded it out on enough possessions to get ourselves the lead."
 
On the offense: "Late in the year our guys are doing a better job sharing the ball than we have at any point this season. That is great because you want to be playing your best when you are getting to March."
 
On next game against Concordia: "We know they are tough and they play a very unique style. We are going to have to do a good job handling the pressure and not allow them to speed us up. If we can play the game at our pace and our tempo, I think we can find a way to have success."

News and Notes
> This was Point Loma's first-ever PacWest Championship in a men's sport
> PLNU's last conference title came as members of the Golden State Athletic Conference (1986-87)
> After earning just two PacWest Championships in all sports in the Sea Lions previous four season in teh PacWest, PLNU has won three PacWest Championships this year
> In 1986-87, Point Loma went on to win the NCCAA Championship
> Point Loma has shot .500 percent from the field in 10 of its last 11 games
> Preston Beverly has been in double figures in each of the last 11 games, and 21 of 27 games this season
> The Sea Lions are on a seven-game winning streak against Fresno Pacific and have not lost to the Sunbirds since the 2012-13 season
> Frank Kalinski scored his first career points

Up Next
The Sea Lions will close out the regular season at home against Concordia on Saturday, Mar. 2. The game will tip-off at 4 p.m.