(BELMONT, Calif.) No. 17 PLNU Men's Basketball passed another major road test on Saturday afternoon, defeating Academy of Art 75-72 to continue its unbeaten start to PacWest play.
 
With the win, Point Loma (18-3 overall, 13-0 PacWest) is one win shy of tying its best-ever start to a PacWest season (2018-19).
 
"Today was an absolute battle," Head Coach Matt Logie said. "It was a terrific team effort against a very tough and talented team. I can't say enough about the togetherness of this group."
 
Kaden Anderson scored 21 of his game-high 30 points in the first half, helping PLNU take a 39-30 advantage at halftime.
 
ART U responded after the interval, opening the second half on an 11-1 run to take its first lead since early in the game.
 
Then with the Urban Knights ahead by four, 56-52, back-to-back 3-pointers from Brian Goracke and Shamrock Campbell capped off a 10-0 streak for the Sea Lions that put the visitors back in front.
 
The hosts wouldn't go down easily though, cutting their deficit to just two with under a minute to play.
 
Jake Lifgren hit a huge triple to put PLNU back up by five, only for ART U to sink three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point shot to make it a two-point game with 12 seconds to play.
 
The Sea Lions then split a pair from the line at the other end before the Urban Knights missed a 3 at the buzzer, marking the second-straight game that PLNU has forced a missed game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds to edge their opponents on the road.
 
"I thought our guys did a nice job of handling the pressure and taking care of the basketball, and then everyone had to fight on the glass for rebounds and loose balls," Logie said.
 
PLNU's 11 triples for the game proved vital, compared to five 3-pointers for ART U, who shot just 16.7% from behind the arc.
 
Kaden Anderson tallied his second 30-point double-double in his last four games, grabbing a season-high 14 rebounds.
 
Goracke (16 points), Lifgren (12 points) and Luke Haupt (11 points, six assists) joined Anderson in double figures.
 
The Sea Lions now return to Golden Gym on Wednesday to take on Chaminade. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.