(SAN DIEGO)
Jake Lifgren scored a career-high 34 points to lift No. 11 PLNU Men's Basketball to a thrilling 82-79 overtime victory against Stanislaus State in
Justin Downer's first game as Point Loma head coach.
"I'm just proud of our guys," Downer said. "They found a way. I don't think it could've been uglier or more opposite of how we drew it up but who these guys are as people is they just find a way."
After playing a supporting role as a freshman on a team with five fifth-year players, Lifgren asserted his alpha dog status with a career effort in the first game of his sophomore campaign.
The sophomore guard began the game a perfect 6-for-6 from 3-point range, finishing the night 7-of-10 from behind the arc and 10-of-18 overall from the field.
His 17-point outburst in the first half kept PLNU in the game and only down by two at the break after the Sea Lions coughed the ball up 14 times in the opening 20 minutes.
But the home side took better care of the ball the rest of the way, with only four turnovers in the second half and overtime combined.
Point Loma opened up the second half on a 9-0 run to take a game-high seven-point lead, prompting a Stanislaus timeout, as
Wynton Brown scored four-straight points out of the locker room.
"We were very calm," Downer said of his team going into the second half. "We knew we turned the ball over way too much, gave up too many offensive rebounds and had lot of live ball turnovers that led to fast breaks. We tried to calm that stuff down and take a deep breath."
The visitors then battled back to tie the game at the 12:44 mark, before the teams traded leads for much of the second half.
Lifgren's steal and layup put the Sea Lions back up by one with 1:42 remaining before a
Luke Smith drive to the basket and a pair of Lifgren free throws put PLNU up by five with just 35 seconds to play.
But the visiting Warriors managed to claw their way back and force overtime, which only set the stage further for Lifgren to cap off a dominant night with six of PLNU's nine points in the extra period.
With Point Loma up by one, Smith came up with a clutch defensive block in the final minute to preserve the Sea Lions' lead, while Lifgren made four free throws in the final 20 seconds to close out the victory.
"It wasn't all great, it wasn't all pretty," Downer said. "These guys are warriors and are committed to each other and finding a way. I'm very proud of their execution down the stretch, especially going into overtime and not flinching after giving up a lead."
Zack Paulsen (13 points),
Coby Barnes (10 points, eight rebounds) and Brown (10 points, six rebounds) joined Lifgren in double figures, while Smith pitched in with seven points and seven boards.
Point Loma (1-0 overall) has a quick turnaround before hosting Cal State East Bay on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the final game of the PacWest/CCAA Crossover Challenge.
