(HONOLULU) For the third-straight game in Hawai'i, PLNU Men's Basketball headed to overtime, but Point Loma fought through the fatigue to come away with a 75-73 victory over Chaminade on Saturday.
"Man, how about these guys?" Head Coach
Justin Downer said. "It wasn't exactly how we drew it up, but I couldn't be prouder of our group.
"Not because of the result, we had three games that we could have gone 3-0 or 0-3, but I'm proud of who they are becoming as a team and individually. They have grown so much game-to-game."
Coby Barnes scored a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers.
"
Coby Barnes deserves so much credit," Downer said. "No one embodies our program and university more than him. He's as solid as they come, and I'm so grateful to have him in our program and for his leadership and trust in this place."
Barnes made two go-ahead jumpers in the final 1:19 of regulation, only for the Silverswords to answer back each time and force overtime.
To start the extra period,
Tyce Paulsen drained a triple before
Pierce Davis' dunk put the Sea Lions up by five.
A pair of free throws from
Zack Paulsen then put the visitors up by as many as six before the hosts' comeback bid fell short, as PLNU ended its Hawai'i trip with two-straight wins.
Helping the Sea Lions' cause was a 23-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
Joining Barnes in double figures was
Zack Paulsen (14 points) and
Luke Smith (10 points, 12 rebounds), who recorded his second double-double of the season.
After five-straight games on the road, Point Loma (14-6 overall, 9-3 PacWest) returns home to Golden Gym to take on Dominican on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
"We can't wait to get back to Golden Gym where we have five of the next six games at home," Downer said. "We need the Green Sea out, and we can't wait to see our fans."
