(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Men's Basketball raced out to a big first-half lead before beating Fresno Pacific 68-60 on Wednesday night in PacWest action.
Point Loma shot 59.3% from the field in the first half and 9-for-18 from behind the arc to take a 43-26 halftime lead.
The Sunbirds then held the Sea Lions to just five field goals in the second half, as the visitors got all the way to within one with 6:05 to play.
But PLNU managed to stave off FPU's comeback bid, with
Luke Smith and
Jake Lifgren hitting clutch 3-pointers in the final 1:08 to preserve the victory.
Lifgren led all scorers with 19 points, while
Zack Paulsen (15 points) and Smith (13 points) joined him in double figures, with all three players making at least three triples on the night.
Point Loma (9-4 overall, 4-1 PacWest) will host Hawai'i Hilo (10-4, 4-1) on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside Golden Gym in a battle of teams tied for second place in the conference standings.
Both teams are just a half-game behind Biola (10-4, 5-1), whom PLNU plays on Jan. 10.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
