GOLDEN, Colo. - The No. 4 seeded Point Loma men's basketball team fell to No. 5 seeded Northwest Nazarene, 85-73, in the first round of the NCAA West Regional. (Mar. 12)
 
The Nighthawks jumped on the Sea Lions early as they found holes in Point Loma's defense to build a 19-9 lead before extending it to 34-13 with five minutes left in the half. PLNU would fight back to cut it to 10 (40-30) with a 17-6 run before halftime. However, the break did not put a damper on NNU's momentum, as it continued to add on until it led by 22 (64-42) midway through the second half.
 
The Sea Lions did not go away easy though with their playoff lives on the line. They continued to fight until they cut the deficit to 12 with 2:30 on the clock but they would not get the help they needed from  Northwest Nazarene as the Nighthawks hit all 10 of their free throws in the final minutes to keep Point Loma at bay.
 
Brock Mackenzie led PLNU with 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He also grabbed a career-best seven rebounds. Kaden Anderson added 18 points and eight rebounds. Josh Caston came off the bench to hit 4-of-5 shots from the field and all eight of his shots from the charity stripe to score a career-high 17 points. Ezekiel Alley led NNU with 20 points and Sam Roth added a season-best 18 of his own on 8-of-12 shooting.  
 
Team Records
#4 Point Loma (8-3), #5 Northwest Nazarene (12-4)
 
Turning Point
After Point Loma cut the deficit to 10 before the half it looked like the Sea Lions might have a chance to fight back in the second half. However, PLNU had just one basket over a seven-and-a-half-minute stretch and NNU extended its lead from 10 to 22 points.
 
Words from coach Matt Logie
On Northwest Nazarene: "NNU deserves all the credit. They played so much harder than the first time we played them and unfortunately it took us a while to get going after their initial punch."
 
On lessons that can be taken from the season: "Our guys went through a lot to even be at an NCAA regional and there are tremendous positive lessons from that. Without the normalcy of a preseason, no non-conference games, minus two starters, and overcoming a pause mid-season, the way they showed up through all of it, I am super proud of them and our staff. "
 
On what he'll remember about this season and this team: "I will remember this team for their adaptability as well as the appreciation we all had for the opportunity to compete together. I couldn't be more excited about where we can go from here."
 
News and Notes
> This was the fourth straight regional appearance for PLNU
> The Sea Lions were 0-3 this season when it failed to score 75 or more points
> Point Loma started the game 4-of-21 from 3-point range, the same figure NNU had in its loss at PLNU
> For just the second time all season, PLNU had more turnovers than assists (nine on 27 baskets)
> PLNU never led after going up 7-5
> This was Northwest Nazarene's first NCAA Regional appearance
> NNU shot .517 percent in the game, the second-high percentage PLNU yielded all season
> Anderson has now scored in double-figures in 26 straight games dating back to last season

Next
This ends the 2020-21 season for the Point Loma men's basketball team.