(SAN DIEGO) The PacWest runs through The Point – again.
No. 9 PLNU Men's Basketball clinched at least a share of its fourth straight conference championship, and fifth in the past six seasons, on Saturday with an 86-77 win over Vanguard.
Zackry Paulsen made six 3-pointers in the first half on his way to 20 points in the opening period, helping the Sea Lions develop a 44-33 halftime lead.
The visiting Lions got no closer than four in the second half before the hosts quickly re-established their double-digit advantage, with
Pierce Davis putting PLNU up by as many as 15 with 6:24 to play.
Vanguard got back to within four with just over a minute remaining, only for Point Loma to make 7-of-8 at the free throw line in the final 42 seconds to close out the victory.
Paulsen led all scorers with 31 points and was joined in double figures by
Luke Haupt (14 points) and
Tyce Paulsen (13 points).
Offensively, the Sea Lions shot 59.6% from the field, their highest shooting % in a game this season.
Point Loma (23-5 overall, 16-2 PacWest) also clinched the No. 1 seed in the PacWest Championships (March 6-8) and will secure the outright conference title with at least one win in its final two games, or a loss by Biola.
PLNU hosts Menlo in Golden Gym on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before closing out the regular season against Westmont on Saturday at 4 p.m. on Senior Day.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
