(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Men's Basketball finished the 2022 portion of its PacWest schedule a perfect 6-0 in conference play after cruising past Fresno Pacific on Monday evening, 84-54.
"Having 20 assists as a team tonight and only six turnovers is a big part of that," Head Coach
Matt Logie said. "I'm hugely grateful for that attitude and the way that these guys are playing together."
Kaden Anderson got on a roll in the early going, scoring 17 of Point Loma's first 21 points, with his 3-pointer putting PLNU ahead 21-15.
"He's continuing to make his impact felt," Logie said of the two-time PacWest Player of the Year. "He draws a lot of attention and the thing that makes Kaden special is he's aggressive but he also gets his teammates involved."
After Anderson's hot start,
Tobin Karlberg later scored three-straight baskets for the Sea Lions, including a pair of triples, to put Point Loma up by double digits.
Brian Goracke then made the first of his game-high five 3-pointers to close out the first half and give PLNU a 14-point halftime advantage.
The outside shot kept falling for the Sea Lions in the second period, with a Goracke triple capping off a 9-0 run by the hosts immediately after play resumed.
Back-to-back 3's from
Jake Lifgren then extended PLNU's advantage to as many as 36, as the team hit 18 3-pointers overall on 41.9% shooting from behind the arc.
"We all trust each other to make shots," Anderson said. "That was present throughout the whole game. The bench energy was great. We all just enjoy playing with each other."
Simultaneously, the Sea Lions held the Sunbirds to just 4-for-23 (17.4%) from deep.
"They have a really good interior presence so we wanted to make them play from the outside-in instead of the inside-out," Logie said. "I thought our guys did a really good job of recognizing where they need to be on the floor and how to stop penetration and post-ups."
Anderson led all scorers with 26 points, his third-straight 20-plus point outing. Goracke added 17 points, while Lifgren (12 points, 4-for-5 3-pt.) and Karlberg (11 points) also scored in double figures.
Those four, along with
Coby Barnes (eight points), all hit multiple 3-pointers.
Pierce Davis pitched in a career-high nine rebounds to lead all players in just 12 minutes of action.
Point Loma (10-3 overall, 6-0 PacWest) reached double-digit wins before the turn of the new year for the first time since 2018-19. The Sea Lions are also off to their best start in conference play since beginning that same season 14-0 in the PacWest.
"It's a credit to the way they've connected to one another, the shared alignment they have in terms of why they're here and what their goals are for this team," Logie said of his players. "It's allowed us to navigate a really challenging schedule and start the year in a really positive way. I'm really excited about where we're at."
PLNU now has 10 days before its final game of 2022, when Point Loma hosts San Diego Christian on Dec. 29 at 6 p.m.
