(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Men's Basketball aimed to leave no doubt this year.
Point Loma accomplished that, even on Monday night when its historic season came to a heartbreaking end in a 58-61 defeat to Cal State Dominguez Hills in the West Regional championship.
The top-seeded Sea Lions rallied back from a double-digit deficit and fought all the way to the end, giving the second-seeded Toros everything they could handle in front of a packed Golden Gym crowd.
Trailing by 10 late in the first half and then again early in the second half, Point Loma willed its way back to take a four-point advantage with a chance to go up by as many as seven.
PLNU went on an 11-1 run, with a
Tyce Paulsen 3-pointer and four free throws from
Zackry Paulsen tying it up with 13:12 left to play.
After CSUDH retook the lead, a
Luke Smith triple tied it up once more before his free throws with 9:31 remaining gave the Sea Lions their first advantage since the 10:24 mark in the first half.
The two teams then went back and forth the rest of the way in a game that featured eight ties and 10 lead changes.
Luke Haupt drove to the basket to tie the game with 1:18 on the clock before the Toros scored on their next two possessions to go up by three.
Head Coach
Justin Downer drew up a perfectly executed out-of-bounds play for a game-tying 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds to play, but PLNU was forced to foul when CSUDH corralled the rebound.
The Toros then missed both foul shots with 3.1 seconds on the clock, which allowed Haupt to grab the rebound and pull up from beyond half court, with his shot barely missing off the back iron.
Zackry Paulsen, who led the team with 22 points on the night, was named to the West Regional All-Tournament Team along with Haupt.
Point Loma finishes the season with a 29-6 overall record, having tied its program record for regular season victories and winning the PacWest regular season and tournament titles.
The Sea Lions' regional championship appearance is the third time the program has reached the Sweet 16 in the past six postseasons, as PLNU has emerged as a regional and national contender.
There's no doubt about that.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
