[PacWest Tournament Central] [Tournament bracket] [PLNU Game Notes]
The playoffs begin now
The Point Loma men's basketball team will enter the 2018-19 PacWest Championships as the No. 1 seed after capturing the conference regular season title with a 20-2 record (24-4 overall). The No. 12 ranked Sea Lions will face the winner of No. 4 seed Azusa Pacific or No. 5 seed Academy of Art in the semifinals on Friday, Mar. 8 at 2:45 p.m.
PacWest Championships
The 2018-19 PacWest Championships, hosted by Dominican University and will be held at the Conlan Center in San Rafael, Calif., on Mar. 7-9. Pre-sale tickets are available for purchase online, for both general admission single tickets and all-tournament passes. Fans can purchase tickets online and print them at home to present at the door. Online tickets are the only way to purchase with a credit/debit card, cash only at the door. Student tickets are available for $5, cash only at the door. Children 12 and under receive free admission. To purchase tickets, view the complete PacWest Men's Basketball Championship bracket or check out
PacWest Tournament Central, click here.
Follow along
If you are unable to attend the PacWest Championships, they will be available for fans to follow free via live stats and live video. To access both live stats and live video visit
portal.stretchinternet.com/pacwest.
A look at the Sea Lions
The No. 10 ranked Point Loma men's basketball team clinched the No. 1 seed in the PacWest Championships on the final day of the regular season with a 93-83 win over Concordia at home. The win gave the Sea Lions the outright PacWest regular season title, which is the first in program history, and the first overall regular-season conference title since the 1986-87 season. Point Loma began the conference season with the best start in conference history at 14-0, and finished 20-2 to break the conference's single-season wins record.
Daulton Hommes leads the PacWest and ranks 18th in the country in scoring at 22.0 ppg. He is shooting .535 percent from the field and .465 percent from 3-point range. His .465 shooting percentage from behind the arc ranks ninth in NCAA Division II. Senior forward
Preston Beverly provides a second scoring option for the Sea Lions. He is averaging with 13.4 ppg while ranking second in the PacWest with a .552 shooting percentage. He leads PLNU with 7.8 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and five double-doubles.
Ziggy Satterthwaite is also in double figures with 10.3 ppg. He is pacing the team with a .585 field goal percentage and would lead the PacWest in shooting, with more attempts.
Josh Rodriguez ranks second in the PacWest in assists (4.8) and is tied for fifth in steals (1.8). He is shooting .470 percent from the field, .403 from 3-point range and is averaging 9.2 ppg.
Season overview
Point Loma was picked as the PacWest preseason favorite after receiving 10 of the 12 first-place votes, and the Sea Lions proved the voters right. PLNU went 1-1 in its opening tournament, with their loss coming to the region's current No. 1 team, Saint Martin's. After collecting three more victories in home games, including a huge win over No. 15 ranked UC San Diego in overtime, the Sea Lions stumbled at home against No. 16 St. Cloud State (74-65). This loss and the opening of PacWest play refocused PLNU.
It went on a 14-match winning streak to open conference play and set the record for best start in PacWest history. The run included a perfect 3-0 record in Hawaii and featured a 75-71 victory over No. 19 ranked Chaminade. The Sea Lions would see their winning streak end in an overtime game at Concordia. After two more road wins in the Bay Area, Point Loma would suffer its only surprise defeat of the season as it fell to Hawaii Hilo, 81-77. However, Point Loma quickly bounced back with a 97-92 overtime-victory over No. 22 Chaminade. They would close out the regular season with four straight home wins, including a victory over second-place Concordia on Mar. 2 to wrap up sole possession of the 2018-19 PacWest Championship.
The identity of the Sea Lions has been built on toughness
PLNU ranks seventh in the country in rebounding margin, as they grab 9.5 more boards than their opponents. Point Loma also leads the PacWest and ranks 25th in the country in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score just 66.9 ppg. On the other side of the ball, the Sea Lions can really shoot it. They rank second in the country in both field goal percentage (.526) and 3-point field goal percentage (.425). Their 81.7 ppg leads the PacWest, and PLNU ranks ninth in NCAA Division II with a 14.8 scoring margin.
Capturing the title
When PLNU won the 2018-19 PacWest Championship, it marked the first regular season title for the program in 32 years (1986-87). The Sea Lions won the PacWest Championship by two games over second-place Concordia, after defeating the Eagles on the final day of the regular season. It was PLNU's first-ever conference title in a men's sport.
Hommes named PacWest Player and Newcomer of the Year
Hommes became the first Sea Lion to earn a PacWest Men's Basketball Player of the Year honor when he was voted by the league's coaches as a near unanimous selection. The junior guard led the PacWest and ranked 18th in NCAA Division in scoring with 22 points per game. He scored at least 30 points in six different games this season, and he scored 471 points during conference play. Hommes shot .535 from the field and had a conference-best .465 mark from beyond the arc (ninth in Division II). The junior also averaged 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in the regular season. He has scored 617 points so far this season (seventh-most in PacWest history).
Loma in the rankings
Following their victory over Concordia, Point Loma moved up in both the national polls. The Sea Lions climbed two spots in the NABC poll to move back to No. 10. In the D2SIDA poll, Point Loma moved up three spots to No. 13. PLNU's highest ranking this year was No. 8 in the NABC poll and No. 10 in the D2SIDA poll.
vs. the Top 25
Point Loma went 3-1 against top 25 ranked teams in 2018-19. The Sea Lions defeated No. 15 UC San Diego at home in overtime for their first top 25 win of the season. PLNU later went on the road to defeat No. 19 Chaminade before also winning the matchup against the Silverswords when they came into Golden Gym ranked No. 22. Point Loma's only loss to a top 25 team came against No. 16 St. Cloud State.
Record-setting Rodriguez
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 to give himself 629 assists in his career. Rodriguez also became the third player in PacWest history with over 200 career steals. In addition to all his PacWest accolades, Rodriguez also became Point Loma's all-time leader in steals and moved into third place in assists.
The free throw line is key
This season the Sea Lions led the PacWest in both free throw attempts (600) and free throws made (444). PLNU shoots .740 from the charity stripe, and both
Daulton Hommes (.855) and
Josh Rodriguez (.861) shoot over 85 percent. Point Loma has made more free throws than their opponents have taken in 21 games this season, and the Sea Lions are a percent 21-0 in those games.
Inside the numbers
When looking a little deeper at the plus/minus stats of the Sea Lions,
Kaden Anderson leads the team with +29.3 points per 40 minutes. He is followed by
Ben Okhotin (+23.7) and
Noah Stapes (+18.6).
Josh Rodriguez leads the team on a per game basis at +11.8, followed by Hommes at +11.1.
The magic number
The key for the Sea Lions all season has been their ability to hold opponents below 75 points. PLNU is 20-1 when holding opponents to 75 points or less, with the only exception coming in their loss to No. 16 St. Cloud State (65-74).
Life with Looney
In the first three seasons with
Ryan Looney on the sideline, the PLNU men's basketball team has posted a 62-25 record. He lead PLNU to its first conference championship and to the highest ranking in regional history (No. 2). and earned both their highest conference finish and highest regional (#2) and national ranking (#8).
PLNU team and player notes
> Point Loma has outrebounded its opponents in 25 of 28 games
> The Sea Lions are 9-0 when they win the turnover battle
> Hommes has hit a 3-pointer in 26 of 28 games, including each of the last 17 games
> Beverly has scored in double-figures in 12 straight games
> PLNU is 5-2 in games decided by five points or less
Next games
If Point Loma can advance past either Azusa Pacific or Academy of Art in the semifinal, it will play in its second PacWest Championship in program history on Saturday, Mar. 9 at 2 p.m.
