The old cliche during March Madness is "survive and advance." Point Loma Nazarene University did just that in the first round of the Division II NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Hosting the West Regional as the #1 seed, the Sea Lions got a tough test from Northwest Nazarene University before pulling away for a 78-64 win at Golden Gymnasium for their 24th straight win. The Knighthawks, trying to pull off one of the great upsets in tournament history, jumped out to an 8-0 lead.
"They hit us in the mouth early," says PLNU head coach Matt Logie. "We missed a few shots and sometimes that gets you to tighten up a little bit. I was really proud of the way our guys hung in there, kept their poise, and got some shots to fall."
Once they started falling, they didn't stop.
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Sophomore guard Brian Goracke scored 12 of his 17 points in the 1st half to help PLNU take a 28-25 lead into the break. In the final 20 minutes the Sea Lions went bonkers, scoring 50 points in the 2nd half to run away with the win. All-American forward Kaden Anderson scored 21 points and added 15 rebounds while freshman Jake Lifgren scored an efficient 17 on just eight shots.
The Sea Lions get Academy of Art University in the 2nd round. They've played twice this year and neither has been comfortable. PLNU won by eight at home but escaped with a 3-point win in the Bay Area. That was the last time they won a game by single-digits. Point Loma's last 10 wins have all come by at least 11 points.
