(SAN DIEGO) No. 1 seed PLNU Men's Basketball opened up the NCAA West Regional on Friday night in Golden Gym with a convincing First Round victory over No. 8 seeded Seattle Pacific, 68-54.
The 54 points allowed are the fewest points the Sea Lions have ever conceded in an NCAA regional game.
Point Loma broke open a tie game by closing the first half on a 10-3 run to go into the locker room up 35-28.
PLNU quickly extended its lead to double digits in the second half with a physical drive inside from
Luke Haupt.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from
Jaden Matingou, who went 3-for-3 from behind the arc on the night, kept the Sea Lions rolling.
Pierce Davis' thunderous dunk got the home crowd on its feet before a pair of
Andrew Hommes free throws put the tournament hosts up by as many as 20.
The Sea Lions cruised the rest of the way, winning the turnover battle 15-8 and converting those into a 19-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
Paulsen led all players with 20 points, while Haupt (13 pts, 8 rbs),
Coby Barnes (11 points) and Matingou (10 points) joined him in double figures.
Point Loma (28-5 overall) advances to play fifth-seeded Cal State San Bernardino in Saturday's regional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. in Golden Gym.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
