[Photo gallery]

SAN DIEGO – Golden Gym was rocking on Friday night when the Point Loma men's basketball team took the court in their first-ever NCAA West Regional home game. The stands were full with students decked out in white, and they would not be disappointed, as they were treated to the Sea Lions defeating Western Oregon, 70-58, to advance to the second round of the NCAA West Regional.
 
Daulton Hommes led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Preston Beverly was even better from the field as he hit 7-of-8 shots to post his 15th straight game in double figures with 17 points. Darius Lubom came off the bench to pace WOU with 17 points.
 
This was the first NCAA playoff win in PLNU history, but it did not come easy in a rematch against the team that knocked Point Loma out of the regional last year. PLNU found itself down 14-6 at the 11:57 mark, before closing out the half on a 26-11 run to take a 32-25 lead into the locker room.
 
In the second half,  Point Loma hit its first five shots to take a 15-point lead (45-30). WOU then began to chip away and cut it to four (55-51) with 6:28 remaining. The Sea Lions had the answer. They isolated Hommes on the block, and he patiently worked for a leaning layup off the glass that kept the Wolves at bay but that basket also brought momentum back to the Sea Lions. Western Oregon would never get closer than four points the rest of the way, and the PLNU sealed the game by going 9-of-12 from the free throw line in the final four minutes.
 
Team Records
#1 Point Loma (27-4), #8 Western Oregon (22-11)
 
Turning point
The first-half run by the Sea Lions gave them a lead which they would never relinquish, but it was the Sea Lions' execution between the three-minute and six-minute mark of the second half that was the difference in the game. After a Darius Lubom 3-pointer cut the lead to four (55-51), the Sea Lions did not panic but instead set up plays for Hommes. He scored layups on back-to-back possessions, and later he beat his man in an isolation play to help deliver the victory to the Sea Lions.
 
Words from coach Looney and the student-athletes


News and Notes
> This was the second appearance for PLNU in the NCAA West Regional (2017-18)
> The win snaps Point Loma's four-game losing streak against the Wolves
> The Sea Lions were the only PacWest team to win in the first round (1-2)
> PLNU is 23-1 this season when holding their opponents to 75 points or less
> Point Loma is 23-0 in games in which it makes more free throws than its opponent takes
> Daulton Hommes scored in double figures in all 31 games this season, including eclipsing the 20-point plateau 15 times
> Preston Beverly has been in double figures in each of the last 15 games, and 25 of 31 games this season

Up Next
The Sea Lions will face crosstown rivals and No. 4 seed UC San Diego in the second round of the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, Mar. 16 at 7:30 p.m.