NCAA Division II Bracket | NCAA Division II Tournament Program | PLNU Game Notes

Back again
The Point Loma men's basketball team returns to the NCAA West Regional for the fourth straight season. PLNU earned the No. 4 seed and will face the No. 5 seed, Northwest Nazarene, in the opening round on Friday, Mar. 12 at 7:45 (PST).
 
Follow along
All games at the NCAA West Regional will be available on live stats and video stream for free. To access the video go to portal.stretchinternet.com/csm/ or click here. The live stats will be available at https://www.ncaa.com/game/5801136.
 
Games go forward without fans
No fans will be admitted to Lockridge Arena for the NCAA West Regional, hosted by Colorado School of Mines.
 
West Region Hub
For more information on the regional, including a detailed schedule, scores photo galleries, and more visit the NCAA West Regional tournament hub page. 
 
A look at #4 Point Loma
PLNU captured one of the four at-large bids and the No. 4 seed in the NCAA West Regional after going 8-2 on the season and 7-2 in PacWest play. The Sea Lions opened the year with five straight wins to stretch their winning streak to 12 straight games. Both Point Loma's losses this year have come away from Golden Gym to Biola.
 
Six Sea Lions average over eight points per game to help PLNU put up 81.2 points per game. Kaden Anderson leads the way with 19.1 ppg. He is shooting .553 percent from the field, .483 percent from 3-point range, and .886 percent from the free throw line. He also averages a team-leading 8.1 rebounds. Brock Mackenzie is right behind Anderson averaging 18.1 ppg. His 28 made 3-pointers lead the PacWest. Newcomer Myles Franklin is averaging 12.7 ppg and leads the team with 4.5 assists per game. He is shooting .432 percent from behind the arc. Luke Haupt is averaging 8.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg as a freshman. He is also second in the PacWest with 2.0 steals per game. Josh Caston has come off the bench to score 8.2 ppg on .500 percent shooting. Noah Stapes is shooting .519 percent from the field and .439 percent from 3-point range. The senior forward is putting up averages of 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
 
As a team, Point Loma paces the PacWest with 82.1 ppg and is second with a .480 field goal percentage. They limit their opponents to just 70.8 ppg and a .442 field percentage. PLNU also led the league in turnover margin (+4.4), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50), steals (7.6), and scoring margin (11.3).
 
A look at #5 Northwest Nazarene
The Nighthawks were awarded the No. 5 seed in the West Regional after finishing the season 11-4 and being ranked in the top 25 for much of the season. This will be the first-ever trip to the NCAA West Regional for the Nighthawks. Due to the GNAC not having a basketball schedule this season, NNU did not play a conference schedule. The Nighthawks opened the year with an impressive win over NCAA DI opponent, Portland State. They would go on an eight-game winning streak in the middle of their season to propel them to as high as No. 14 in the country (Feb. 16). Since then, however, NNU has lost three of their last four games.
 
Ezekiel Alley leads the team with 19.9 ppg. The guard shoots .486 percent from the field, .447 percent from 3-point range and .797 percent from the free throw line. He has scored 20 or more points eight times, including his final three games of the regular season. George Reidy is the Nighthawks' second-leading scorer and the only other student-athlete averaging in double figures (12.7). James Nelson leads the team in rebounding (5.3) while shooting .521 percent from the field and .879 percent at the free throw line. Point guard Kobe Terashima is averaging 4.6 assists per game to go along with 7.9 ppg. He is shooting .551 percent from the field.
 
As a team, NNU posts 79.6 ppg and allows 75.6 ppg. They shoot .462 percent from the field and .375 percent from 3-point range. The Nighthawks outrebound their opponents by 5.4 boards per game.
 
Sea Lions and Nighthawks meet again
This will not be the first time the Sea Lions will be seeing Northwest Nazarene this season. The two teams faced off at Point Loma's Golden Gym on Jan. 15 in the season opener for PLNU (third game for NNU). Point Loma handled the Nighthawks, 87-57, and never trailed in the game. Brock Mackenzie led the way with 23 points as he connected on 5-of-9 shots from behind the arc. Kaden Anderson (14 pts, 10 rebs) and Luke Haupt (13 pts, 10 rebs) each added double-doubles. Point Loma shot .500 percent from the field and made a season-high 16 3-pointers. Meanwhile, their defense held NNU to just .359 percent shooting and 4-of-21 from behind the arc.
 
Kaden Anderson named PacWest Player of the Year
Kaden Anderson was voted as the 2020-21 PacWest Player of the Year by the league's coaches. The 6-8 junior forward was all over the PacWest top 10 stat lists, appearing in five different categories. He ranked second in the league in scoring (19.1) and sixth in rebounds (8.1). He led the league with an .886 free throw percentage and was third in field goal percentage (.553). He was also fifth in blocked shots (1.0). Anderson has now scored in double-figures in 24 straight PacWest contests, including a 37-point outing at Azusa Pacific. Anderson joins Daulton Hommes as the only PLNU men's basketball student-athletes to ever earn PacWest Player of the Year honors.
 
Mackenzie and Franklin join Anderson on the All-PacWest team
Guards Brock Mackenzie and Myles Franklin joined Kaden Anderson on the 2020-21 PacWest SoCal Pod All-Conference team. This was the first All-PacWest selection for Mackenzie and Franklin, and the second for Anderson. Mackenzie was third in the league with 18.1 ppg and led the PacWest in 3-pointers (2.8 per game). Franklin ranked third in assists (4.5) while averaging 12.7 points and handling the point guard duties.
 
Title defense
With the 2019-20 NCAA Division II tournament canceled last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Sea Lions will technically enter the NCAA West Regional as the defending champions. In 2018-19, PLNU was the No. 1 seed and hosted the regional at Golden Gym. Point Loma captured the 2019 NCAA West Regional Championship over Saint Martin's, 60-54. Point Loma is also the defending National Runners-up after reaching the NCAA Division II Championship game during the same season.
 
National rankings
Throughout this season, Point Loma has been ranked in the top 25. The Sea Lions began the season at No. 19 before climbing as high as No. 8 in the D2SIDA national poll. They enter the regional ranked No. 22. If PLNU can maintain a top 25 ranking in the final poll, this will be the third straight season the Sea Lions have finished ranked in the top 25.
 
Taking care of the rock
Point Loma ranks fifth in the country with just 10.2 turnovers per game. Six times this season the Sea Lions have committed less than 10 giveaways in a game. Only twice have they committed more turnovers in a game than their opponent.
 
Life with Logie
Coach Matt Logie owns the highest winning percentage of any coach in NCAA history. The 10th-year head coach has won .840 of his games and has posted a career record of 226-43. His teams have made the playoffs in nine of his 10 seasons. Despite taking over a program that lost five starters from the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship game, PLNU did not miss a beat in its first season under new head coach Matt Logie. He led the Sea Lions to its third straight 20-win season and its second straight PacWest title.