SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Men's basketball fell victim to a near season-high 60% from the field from Point Loma, as the Lions dropped a 89-61 result to the Point Loma Thursday night at Golden Gymnasium. Vanguard now sits at 13-11 and .500 (9-9) in the league with only four games left to try and wedge themselves within a playoff spot at the Pacific West Conference Tournament.

As for Loma, their conference circumstances spell out a bit differently.

Nearly a year ago, to date, in the same fixture at the same venue, the Sea Lions (21-4, 16-3) once again secured the PacWest title against VU. This time, however, Loma's 2026 crown marks their fifth championship in a row, a new conference record for most consecutive regular-season men's basketball titles.

What Happened? Vanguard seemed keen to snap their five-game loss streak when traveling to San Diego as they were out to a fast lead off the opening tip, thanks to Aibigho Ujadughele. The Howlin brothers were also active in the early stages, with Sammy Howlin sealing a steal and finish at the low block and Erik Howlin adding a layup and elbow jump shot (8-8).

Stepping out of the media timeout, Tony Colley ripped away another Lion steal and broke away for a slamdown dunk in transition. Sammy Howlin clocked in another deuce down low, and Dylan Swillis opened his account with an and-one opportunity to keep it at a one-point game (16-15 PLNU) with 11:33 left to go in the half.

Loma started pulling away after the next media timeout, surging to an 11-3 run to put the Lions down by nine (27-18 PLNU) at the 6:31 mark. VU's respite came from Erik Howlin, who hit the first Vanguard three-pointer of the night and followed it up with a long two to try and trim it to a two-possession game. The VU bounce back efforts were clipped by turnovers troubles, however, as the Lions coughed up nine of their eventual 15 giveaways in the half to keep PLNU on the front foot.

VU's 15 turnovers tied their most in a road game this season, as the league leaders in the category ended the half down by 13 after Point Loma's straightaway three-pointer to cap off the scoring.

The Blue and Gold shot 50% (13-26) from the floor and 33% (4-12) from three-point land in the second half. Loma, however, hit 63% percent of their looks in the period (19-30) and continued to badger VU defensively. They scored 13 points in each half off of turnovers, netting a commanding 26-6 margin in the metric.

Erik Howlin had the first VU points of the last 20 minutes, netting an early three-point basket from the left wing. His next field goal would not come for another six minutes, marking a span in which VU as a unit only tallied five points, and trailed overall by 21 (57-36 PLNU).

Point Loma maintained their 20-point lead out of the next media timeout and used three consecutive Lion miscues to go up 69-43 with 9:35 remaining. It was Ujadughele and Devin Carson who crept VU past the half-century mark (75-50), after Boogie split a pair of free throws with 6:36 on the clock. Carson connected for another bucket, this time a three-pointer from the left corner. Point Loma snapped back with a three-pointer of their own to notch their largest lead of the ballgame (85-53) at the 4:14 mark. VU's bench, who outscored PLNU 25-18, did make a strong close at the Point, but an 8-2 finish for the Lions was not enough to rinse away a 28-point defeat in San Diego.

Erik Howlin was the team's only double-digit scorer, finishing a hair off his season-average to claim 18 points (7-12 FG), three rebounds, and 2-2 shooting from deep. Ujadughele was next with nine points, while Carson also cashed in a pair of threes to sport eight points in nine minutes. Sammy Howlin finished with seven points in the loss, while Swillis walked away with six points and three boards.

Two Sea Lions crossed the 20-point threshold, but it was Caden Harris to lead all scorers with a career best 24 points (10-13) and 3-6 from downtown, as PLNU earned a share of the 2026 PacWest title, their sixth in seven years.

What's Next? It's Senior Night for men's basketball as they greet Biola on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m.