(SAN DIEGO) In a matchup between two NCAA West Regional teams from a season ago, Saint Martin's held off a late Point Loma comeback bid to win 66-58 inside Golden Gym on Monday night.
 
SMU held an early 19-10 lead before PLNU found a rhythm from 3-point range, with back-to-back triples from Jake Lifgren giving the Sea Lions their first lead at the 5:33 mark in the first half.
 
The Saints then took a two-point advantage into halftime before another Lifgren 3-pointer sparked an 8-0 Point Loma run that put the hosts up by four.
 
But that lead didn't last long though, as SMU shot 46.2% in the second half, while PLNU went nearly 16 minutes between made 3-pointers, shooting only 2-for-14 from behind the arc after halftime.
 
That next made triple from Tyce Paulsen cut SMU's nine-point lead down to just two with 2:40 to play, but that was as close as the Sea Lions would get.
 
Jake Lifgren scored 20 points to lead all scorers, shooting 6-for-13 overall from the field, including 5-for-11 from downtown.
 
The rest of the team combined to shoot just 3-for-24 from deep.
 
Paulsen joined Lifgren in double figures with 11 points in his collegiate debut, while Luke Smith (8 points, 11 rebounds) and Coby Barnes (7 points, 11 rebounds) both flirted with double-doubles.
 
After three home games to start the season over the span of four days, Point Loma (1-2 overall) hits the road for the first time this year on Friday when the Sea Lions travel to play at Cal State San Marcos. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
POSTGAME INTERVIEW