Championships make teams memorable. Undefeated seasons make teams legendary.
The 2022-23 Point Loma Nazarene men’s basketball team is now the latter.
On Thursday night the Sea Lions whipped Hawaii Hilo 87-66, becoming the first team ever to finish a PacWest Conference season 20-0. It doesn’t matter what the sport is or what the level is, beating everyone put in front of you is exceedingly rare and something to be celebrated. I mean, this school has only 3,200 students and it did something the sporting world has never seen before.
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The last time the Sea Lions lost was two days after last Thanksgiving. The next time they lose might not be before next Thanksgiving. They’ve won 21 straight, but head coach Matt Logie is not putting any numbers on how big the streak will get.
“I don’t know how many more games we get to play but this is a team that’s really hard to beat. They find ways to win. They’re a bunch of winning kids from winning families and they care about each other,” says Logie. “So, however long we can go, we’re going to enjoy every day and every week we have together. It’s just been really special to be a part of and I’m just trying to stay out of the way as much as possible right now.”
Coach Logie has put together such a complete roster he really can, at times, sit back and enjoy the show. They have five graduating seniors, some of them transfers from other programs like Tobin Karlberg, a guard who came to Point Loma from Alaska-Anchorage specifically to chase a championship (and, probably, sunshine).
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“(Coach Logie) makes our job pretty simple. If we do what we’re supposed to do he’s going to have us right,” says Karlberg. “We just have guys who care a lot. I like to think we care more than just about every team we play.”
To sum it up in a word, this team is unselfish.
“We move the ball really well. No one cares about who’s getting the credit, we all want to win,” says senior forward Kaden Anderson. “We all find ways to win. We’re always putting in the work and getting extra shots up and having fun, which is the biggest key.”
Anderson is the two-time reigning PacWest Player of the Year who’s almost certainly going to three-peat. He’s in the conversation for National Player of the Year, too. He could have transferred to a Division 1 school, but instead chose to finish what he started on The Point.
“His loyalty and trust in us to put a puzzle like this together around him is really unique in today’s day and age,” says Logie, trying not to choke up. “It’s really special for me, personally. It’s just been a joy.”
It’s almost a foregone conclusion that the NCAA Tournament West Regional will be played at Golden Gymnasium, where the Sea Lions are 57-11 over the last five seasons.
They need two wins to take the PacWest Conference Tournament title, then six more to win the Division 2 national title. Not too shabby for a little school on the California coast.
