Photo gallery

SAN DIEGO - The No. 8 Point Loma men's basketball team faced its toughest test of the season on Saturday night against a Concordia team hungry for its first victory of the season. The Eagles never let the Sea Lions get a comfortable lead, and even tied the game with five minutes remaining. That is when Brock Mackenzie came alive as the junior guard hit three 3-pointers in the final minutes to help lift the Sea Lions to the 89-78 win. (Feb. 13)
 
Mackenzie was not the only Sea Lion that stepped up down the stretch as Kaden Anderson made a tough and-1 layup with 3:25 left and then hit a pair of free throws with 2:12 remaining to push the lead to nine (83-74). Noah Stapes delivered the dagger basket on the next possession as Anderson found him open in the corner for 3-pointer to extend the lead to 10 (86-76) with 1:29 remaining. The Sea Lions got a defensive stop on their next possession and ran the shot clock down to the final seconds before Mackenzie sealed the game with his fifth 3-pointer of the night.
 
He finished the contest with 19 points, four steals, and a block. Kaden Anderson led all scorers with a game-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Freshman Luke Haupt added a career-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and just missed a double-double as he pulled down a career-high nine rebounds while also dishing out four assists and recording two blocks. Fellow freshmen Brian Goracke scored 10 points and Trey Anderson impacted the game with six points and two big steals. Drew Ramirez and Dominic Hovasse paced CUI with 16 points apiece.
 
Team Records
#8 Point Loma (5-0, 4-0 PacWest), Concordia (0-9, 0-8 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
Point Loma remains one game up on Biola in the loss column in the PacWest SoCal Pod standings. The Eagles (5-1 PacWest) won both their contests over Azusa Pacific this weekend to keep pace with the Sea Lions.
 
Turning Point
Even when all the momentum seemed to be on Concordia's side after it tied the game at 72-72 with five minutes to go, the Sea Lions' confidence did not falter. They put together an 11-2 run on the backs of Mackenzie (six points) and Anderson (five points) and outscored the Eagles 17-6 in the final five minutes of the game.
 
Postgame press conference with coach Matt Logie and Brock Mackenzie

News and Notes
> Point Loma has won 12 straight games dating back to last season
> The Sea Lions outscored Concordia 29-7 in points off turnovers and 16-7 on fast break points
> PLNU had more steals than turnovers (11-10)
> Point Loma was a perfect 11-of-11 at the free throw line
> The Sea Lions swept the four-game season series against Concordia and have now won eight straight against the Eagles
> PLNU has held the lead in the game in 186 of the 200 minutes played this season

Next
The Sea Lions will now prepare to face Biola for the first time this year with first place in the PacWest SoCal Pod standings on the line. The teams will meet first in La Mirada, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 19 before playing at PLNU on Saturday, Feb. 20. Both games will tip-off at 4:30 p.m. This will be the first meeting between the teams since last year's overtime thriller in the PacWest Tournament Championship.