SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- Despite rekindling their shooting groove, Vanguard men's basketball fell 86-77 against #17 Point Loma at the Golden Gymnasium Saturday evening. The Lions shot a steady 45.6% (26-of-57) from the field and 50% (9-for-18) from deep but could not withstand PLNU's season-best 59.6% (28-47) field goal percentage across both halves. In their final road game of the season, the Lions (11-13, 5-13) are dealt their ninth loss in a row, with eight of them settled by single digits. Point Loma (23-5,16-2) set a conference record, clinching their fourth consecutive Pacific West Conference regular season title in addition to locking down the top seed for the PacWest tournament in March.

Four Lion starters scored double-figures as Anthony Tello flushed a team-high 20 points. The senior also added three assists, three steals, and went 10-for-11 from the free-throw line. Chris Chiles went 4-for-5 from three on the way to 16 points and five rebounds. Bryson Metz hit timely shots in the second half to help pull VU back, ending the night with 14 points and three rebounds. Leonard Turner delivered 10 points and Jackson Larsen had nine, with both forwards snaring four rebounds. PLNU's Zack Paulsen had a game-high 31 points, including 6-9 from three-point range.

The Sea Lions' fluid, fast-paced offense was highlighted by an advantages in fast break points (13-6), assists (17-10), and blocks (5-0). The hosts also had narrow wins in rebounds (26-25), points in the paint (34-32), and bench points (11-8). VU had slim leads in steals (10-9), points off turnovers (19-14), and second-chance points (10-7). The Blue and Gold shot a season-best 94% (16-17) from the foul line.

What Happened? VU came out swinging, hitting two of their first three shots and connecting on a Turner three-ball to lead 7-5. Metz elevated into a pull-up jumper to help extend the lead before PLNU snatched control back on a layup inside. Larsen scored four straight, including a hard finish at the rim and two made free throws to hoist the Lions up 13-10 with 12:59 left in the half. Unfortunately, that stood as the final Lion lead of the match as the Sea Lions bundled a 17-0 run to place VU far behind at 27-13 with 8:38 remaining

The Lions, who saw four of their seven reserves score, earned buckets back through Jadyn Johnson and Devin Carson off the bench. PLNU, however, carried forward with Paulsen hitting all six of his three-pointers in the first half to finish with 20 points at the break. The Lions trimmed the deficit down to 11 (44-33) going into the locker room, making three treys, two of which came from Chiles.

The Blue and Gold outscored the Sea Lions 44-42 in the second half as the squad attempted to rally. While their field goal percentage slipped down to 42% (13-31), the Lions continued to hit from three-point range, going 5-for-9 (56%) in the second frame. Chiles picked up where he left off from the first frame, knocking down another pair of threes for VU's opening field goals.

The Lions went 13-of-13 from the charity stripe in the half and made their first through Tello to cut the lead into single digits (54-46 PLNU) with 13:10 on the clock. His next pair of free throws just one minute later closed out a 9-2 VU run to snip the lead down to four (56-52 PLNU). However, the Sea Lions corrected the VU push with a 22-7 run, taking PLNU ahead 74-59 with 6:24 remaining. VU's late pulse to try and scrape back was initiated with a stingy Lion press and two big three-point makes from Metz. VU cut the score back to four (79-75 PLNU) after Tello wedged himself to the rim with 1:01 on the board. The Lions' halfcourt press forced two timeouts from the Sea Lions, but the second trip to the sideline settled the PLNU nerves and the hosts hit seven of their final eight free throws to take the PacWest regular season crown.


What's Next? The Blue and Gold will return home to take on Dominican on Thursday, February 28 at 7:30 pm.