POINT LOMA LOOKS TO CONTINUE POSTSEASON STREAK IN 2022-23

PLNU Men’s Basketball has qualified for five-straight NCAA West Regionals and has claimed either a PacWest regular season or tournament title three full seasons in-a-row.

Yet, the Sea Lions weren’t picked to win the conference this year and aren’t in the top-25 of any national poll.

“We’ve never discussed rankings or predictions,” Head Coach Matt Logie said. “Ultimately all of those things are earned on the court and that’s where our focus will be until the dust settles and we can see how we did at the end of the year. Our guys know who they are and what they are capable of and that’s really all that matters.”

Logie and his team are playing the long game, focusing on taking steps to make sure they get to where they want to be by the end of the season.

“Our definition of success has always been defined by having peace of mind at the end of our journey together that we’ve done everything we can to be the best version of ourselves by the end of the season,” Logie said. “Ultimately, there are many factors that play into the results of our season, but if we can stay healthy this is a group that we feel can compete for another PacWest championship and be among the best teams in the nation.”

With the hopes of making another postseason run, Point Loma will showcase an experienced roster this season, bringing back a fifth-year and adding four graduate transfers.

“At the end of the day, you have to have experience to win in February and March,” Logie said. “You don’t have to be old enough to be good enough, but experience helps.

“This group has an incredible basketball IQ which allows us as coaches to be dynamic and creative in what we do and how we adjust to the challenges of different opponents throughout the season.”

With half of the team being new to the program this year, the Sea Lions went on a team retreat in September to further develop its team chemistry.

“Our team retreat was incredibly important due to the number of new faces in our program this year,” Logie said. “It offered an opportunity to get to know each other better and set some expectations around how we become the best version of ourselves.”

Entering Logie’s fourth season as PLNU Head Coach, he has been encouraged by what he’s seen on the practice court and in scrimmages.

“The early signs for this group have all been very positive,” Logie said. “Our guys have competed extremely well in our preseason scrimmages against some good competition. They seem to really enjoy competing together and are working hard to create our identity as a team.”

Roster

PLNU’s most notable returnee is two-time PacWest Player of the Year Kaden Anderson, who is back for a fifth season after averaging 21.1 points per game and 9.4 rebounds per game a season ago.

“I've been fortunate to coach a few ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ players at the respective programs I've been at and Kaden is definitely in that group,” Logie said of the 6-foot-8 forward. “It's not often you have a bonafide National Player of the Year candidate, but Kaden is that and more.

“As a player, his combination of size and skill is extremely unique and allows us to do some very creative things with him offensively in addition to how it makes others around him better.”

While Logie said that Anderson is one of the top players in the nation, at any level, he lauds the even greater impact the D2CCA All-American has had on the program’s culture.

“His loyalty, competitiveness and work ethic to improve are his greatest attributes because they have been infectious for our program,” Logie said. “He has set the standard for what a player can become here at Point Loma if they are committed to the process with us.”

PLNU also returns a large sophomore class in forward Luke Haupt, guard Brian Goracke, guard Coby Barnes, forward Pierce Davis and forward Isaac Ticeson, with Logie calling that group “a great nucleus of returners.”

“Luke Haupt, who missed almost half of last season, is most definitely one of the best returning players in the PacWest due to his versatility, athleticism and basketball IQ,” Logie said. “Brian Goracke is also poised for a great year and has a combination of shooting ability and athleticism that will be incredibly valuable.

“Coby Barnes started most of conference play last year as a freshman and brings a toughness and gritty attitude to our back court that is incredibly valuable in addition to a much-improved offensive skill set.

“Although set back by injuries a bit this fall, Pierce Davis and Isaac Ticeson also bring athleticism and toughness to our frontcourt that will surely be needed as well.”

Ahead of the new season, the Sea Lions added a quartet of graduate transfers – guard Shamrock Campbell (Carroll College), guard Tobin Karlberg (Alaska Anchorage), forward Kyle Colvin (Cal Poly) and guard Wes Slajchert (Dartmouth).

Campbell was an NAIA All-American last year and Karlberg earned All-GNAC honors after leading Anchorage in scoring. Colvin and Slajchert were both significant contributors for their teams at the NCAA Division I level.

“We are very excited about our incoming guys,” Logie said. “Shamrock Campbell, Tobin Karlberg, Wes Slajchert and Kyle Colvin all bring a level of maturity and experience to our team that we needed to replace due to graduation. I expect all four of those guys to have an instant impact on our team.”

PLNU has also added youth in the form of freshmen guard Jake Lifgren and forward Andrew Hommes.

“Jake Lifgren and Andrew Hommes have picked things up quickly this fall and have the talent to contribute immediately to our success,” Logie said.

Junior guard Aaron Acosta also transferred in from Colorado College, while the team also returns sophomore guard Nick Watkins, highlighting the depth Point Loma has going into the new season.

Schedule

PLNU opens up its 2022-23 season in Turlock at the Crossover Classic featuring teams from the PacWest and CCAA conferences. On Friday, the Sea Lions take on Stanislaus State at 7:30 p.m. before playing against Cal State East Bay on Saturday at 5 p.m.

“Early in any season I think it's important to establish your identity and be true to the principles you have installed while building your team identity,” Logie said. “Ultimately, we want to see carry-over in the execution of how we want to play and compete together so that we can begin to build upon that layer-by-layer.”

Point Loma then hosts Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in its home opener before traveling to Aberdeen, South Dakota for two games in the SCB Champions Classic against nationally-ranked teams in Minnesota Duluth and Northern State.

The Sea Lions then return home for their final two non-conference games, Nov. 22 against Cal State San Marcos (7 p.m.), the top seed in last year’s West Region, and Nov. 26 against Western Washington (2 p.m.).

“I’m not sure there is a tougher November schedule out there in the country, so we are very excited to take on that challenge together,” Logie said.

Point Loma then begins PacWest play on Dec. 1 at home against Academy of Art, determined to reclaim its conference crown.

The Sea Lions were picked to finish second in the PacWest Preseason Poll, just a single point behind projected champions Azusa Pacific.