The Point Loma Nazarene men’s basketball program is making a habit out of turning regular season success into strong March showings.
On Friday evening inside Golden Gymnasium, the No. 1-seeded Sea Lions rolled to a 68-54 victory over No. 8 seed Seattle Pacific in a West Regional first-round matchup of the NCAA Division II tournament.
In a game that closely resembled PLNU’s 82-68 victory over Seattle Pacific on Nov. 29th, the Sea Lions never trailed after the 12:14 mark of the first half and rode a strong push that spanned the end of the first half and early portion of the second to a comfortable victory.
“Our guys did an excellent job of staying prepared and focusing on the (scouting report) and then having confidence in those open shots we were able to get, espcially in the second half,” PLNU coach Justin Downer said. “Sometimes it can be a little scary to be the one seed and play the team that came in on a hot streak like they did.”
The Sea Lions (28-5) will face the winner of Friday’s late quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 seed Biola and No. 5 seed Cal State Bernardino.
Tip off the semifinal will be at 7:30 p.m. after the conclusion of the other semifinal pitting No. 2 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills against No. 6 Central Washington.
Paced by guard Zackry Paulsen’s 20 points, four Sea Lions scored in double figures and PLNU turned 15 Seattle Pacific turnovers into 19 points while holding the Falcons to 4-for-16 shooting from 3-point range.
The vistors like to play at slower pace and run offense through post players Jaxon Nap and Trace Evans but the Sea Lions defended well without having to double team and leave open shooters.
Nap finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds but also had nine turnovers. Guard Mason Landdeck led the Falcons with 15 points.
PLNU is hosting a regional for the third time overall and second time in three seasons.
The Sea Lions won the regional in 2019 and advanced all the way to the national title game and and lost in the regional final in 2023.
Friday’s game was close throughout the first half before the Sea Lions closed the period on a 10-3 run that included a pair of 3-pointers from Zack Paulsen, two baskets from Luke Haupt and offensive rebound and tip-in from Pierre Davis.
The push sent PLNU into the break with a 37-28 lead and the Sea Lions pushed it to double digits on a pair of baskets from Haupt, who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Later, guard Jaden Matingou swished a pair of 3-pointers; he finished with 10 points.
“It gives you a lot of confidence to take those open shots because we work on those situations every day in practice,” said Mantingou, who like Haupt played high school ball at St. Augustine. “ As long as it’s a good shot, coach encourages us to take it. It’s fun playing that way.”
