(SAN DIEGO) In its first game back in Golden Gymnasium after a week away, PLNU Men's Basketball secured a strong 67-53 win over Cal State San Marcos on Tuesday night.

The win comes on the backs of two hard-fought losses for the team, who competed at the Small College Basketball Champions Classic in Aberdeen, South Dakota this past weekend. The Sea Lions lost a tough overtime game to No. 8 Minnesota Duluth, before dropping a second game to Northern State, who received votes in the NABC Preseason Poll.

"We wanted to learn the lessons that we could from those moments in South Dakota, two quality teams and it presented great challenges but also gave opportunities for our guys to grow," said Head Coach Matt Logie. "Ultimately, it is great to play at home and get back into the friendly confines of Golden Gymnasium. You can see it in some of our shooting numbers tonight, guys stepping up with confidence and making some shots."


 

The Tuesday matchup against San Marcos was long-awaited by the Sea Lions, who suffered a devastating loss to the Cougars in San Marcos last season. 

PLNU put its offense on display, shooting 47.8% from the field as a team. Point Loma proved its depth, with four Sea Lions ending the night scoring in double digits. Junior Brian Goracke led all scorers with 17 points.

Tobin Karlberg was among the Sea Lions' top contributors offensively, finishing the night with 15 points on 5-10 shooting from the field.

"One unique thing about our team is how balanced we can be, how many weapons we have, so I think to start using all of those will be great," said Karlberg. "It makes us more dangerous when points can come from four or five, even six or seven different players on any given night. It is great to see." 

The Sea Lions pulled out to an early 14-9 lead off back-to-back Kaden Anderson baskets. A 3-pointer from Goracke extended the lead to 17-9 for PLNU, before the Sea Lions built a 13-point lead to finish the first half ahead 38-25.

"We have a lot of guys that can get it going any night," Goracke said. "It is nice to have that because no one has to carry the load individually, we do it as a team."

PLNU came out strong to start the second half, extending its lead off a quick 3 from Kaden Anderson, who ended the night with 15 points and three blocks. 

San Marcos would not go down quietly though, as a late 6-0 run brought the Cougars to within six points with just five minutes left to play.

However, the Sea Lions closed out the game with a final offensive push that extended their lead back to 14. 

"Our guys settled in down the stretch," Logie said. "We got the ball inside a little bit, we got to the free throw line and we started to get stops. Ultimately, when you get a team that is playing from behind, a team that is fighting for their season in a lot of ways with the start that they've had, we knew there would be no quit."

"We knew we would have to play the full 40 minutes and finish the job. Our guys did a good job down the stretch taking care of the basketball and making free throws."

The victory brings the Sea Lions' record to 4-2 on the season, as the team prepares to face a talented Western Washington team on Saturday at home. The game serves as another revenge-match for PLNU, who lost to the Vikings last season in a close contest in Golden Gymnasium.

Goracke is looking forward to the meeting between the teams, as the Sea Lions hope to win their PacWest Conference tuneup, with the conference season beginning on Dec. 1.

"They beat us last year in a good game, and it will be good to beat them just like we beat San Marcos," said Goracke. "It will be a little bit of revenge."

Karlberg, a transfer from University of Alaska Anchorage, is looking forward to competing against his former conference rival. 

"I can't wait," stated Karlberg. "Coming from Anchorage, I have played WWU a few times each season. I enjoy playing against them. How our team is made up, I like our chances."

Tip-off on Saturday is scheduled for 2 p.m. 

"This was our sixth game in 12 days, and it is time to refresh and refuel," stated Logie. "We scheduled the way we did for a reason. We wanted to challenge them early and see where we end up, and we are excited for the opportunity on Saturday."