(SAN DIEGO) No. 22 PLNU Men's Basketball moved into sole possession of first place in the PacWest standings with a 74-64 home victory over Academy of Art on Saturday.
 
PLNU and ART U entered the day tied atop the conference standings, but the Sea Lions defeated the Urban Knights for the second time this season to get a leg up in the PacWest title race.
 
Point Loma led for 16:38 of the first half, but Academy of Art took its first lead of the opening period with 3:15 remaining before halftime.
 
Zackry Paulsen and Coby Barnes then hit a pair of triples to close out a 6-0 Sea Lions run to end the half and give the hosts a five-point advantage going into the locker room.
 
Another Barnes 3-pointer put PLNU up by double digits in the second half before Pierce Davis' 3-point play gave Point Loma a game-high 11-point advantage.
 
The Urban Knights wouldn't go away, however, making it a one-possession game on multiple occasions.
 
But the Sea Lions held onto their lead for the entirety of the second half, never trailing in the final 20 minutes.
 
Wynton Brown corralled three offensive rebounds in the second half that resulted in six points for him, while the team shot 19-for-23 from the free throw line to close out the victory.
 
Barnes led all scorers with a very efficient 20 points on just seven shots, while Paulsen tallied a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Brown (11 points) and Tyce Paulsen (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Sea Lions, who outscored the Urban Knights 16-6 in bench points with valuable contributions from Davis (8 points) and Andrew Hommes (6 points) among others.
 
Point Loma (12-4 overall, 5-1 PacWest) now flies to Hawai'i for a pair of games, first against Hawai'i Hilo on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. HT.

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