# 2018–19 Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions men's basketball team represented Point Loma Nazarene University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division II men's basketball season. The team was led by third-year head coach Ryan Looney and played their home games at Golden Gymnasium in San Diego, California, as members of the Pacific West Conference (PacWest).
The Sea Lions finished 31–5, 20–2 in PacWest play to win the PacWest regular season championship. It was Point Loma Nazarene's first PacWest title in a men's sport since moving up to the NCAA Division II level in 2014–15, as well as their first conference title in men's basketball since they won the Golden State Athletic Conference title at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level in 1986–87.
The Sea Lions won their first 14 conference games, setting a record for the best start to conference play in PacWest history. They won six of their remaining eight conference matchups to set another PacWest record with 20 conference wins, including a 106–47 blowout victory over Hawaii Pacific where they made a school-record 19 three-pointers. The Sea Lions defeated Azusa Pacific and Concordia to win the PacWest tournament championship and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA DII tournament. They received the #1 seed in the West Regional, where they defeated Western Oregon for their first-ever NCAA playoff win before beating UC San Diego and Saint Martin's to earn a spot in the Elite Eight in Evansville, Indiana. The Sea Lions defeated Queens and Southern Indiana to reach their first National Championship game, which they lost, 64–58, to Northwest Missouri State. They were the first sports team in school history to reach an NCAA National Championship game, and their 31 wins matched the school record for most in a season, which was set by the 1952–53 squad.
The Sea Lions, which ran the "swing offense" popularized by Bo Ryan, were led by redshirt junior and Western Washington transfer Daulton Hommes, who regularly attracted National Basketball Association (NBA) scouts to Point Loma Nazarene games and practices throughout the season. He was named the PacWest Player of the Year and the NABC Division II Player of the Year, among many awards.

## Previous season

The Sea Lions finished the 2017–18 season 21–10, 15–5 in PacWest play to finish in third place. Their 15 conference wins were the most in a season since joining the PacWest. However, they were defeated by Concordia in the quarterfinals of the PacWest tournament. The Sea Lions received an at-large bid to the NCAA DII tournament, where they were defeated by Western Oregon in the opening round of their first-ever West Regional appearance.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Sam Linsky | 12 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Freshman | Kirkland, WA | No longer on team roster |
| Yusuf Shehata | 14 | G | 5'9" | 175 | Senior | Tucson, AZ | Graduated |
| Sean Dunn | 15 | C | 6'9" | 240 | Freshman | Phoenix, AZ | Transferred to Cal State San Marcos |
| Luke Lovelady | 21 | F | 6'8" | 205 | Freshman | Lakewood, WA | Transferred to Western Washington |
| Jacob Maga | 22 | F | 6'4" | 185 | Freshman | Laguna Hills, CA | No longer on team roster |
| Skyler White | 33 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Senior | Seattle, WA | Graduated |
| AJ Firey | 35 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Sophomore | Santa Ana, CA | No longer on team roster |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jack Hutchison | 4 | G | 6'0" | 180 | RS Freshman | Plymouth, MN | Iowa State |
| Ben Okhotin | 21 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Sophomore | San Diego, CA | Westmont |
| Sam Sharghi | 33 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Sophomore | San Diego, CA | Roberts Wesleyan |
| Daulton Hommes | 34 | G | 6'8" | 215 | RS Junior | Lynden, WA | Western Washington |

### 2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Kaden Anderson F | Enumclaw, WA | Enumclaw High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Brock Mackenzie G | Sammamish, WA | Eastside Catholic School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Zac Bulgin G | Salem, OR | West Salem High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Frank Kalinski C | Monterey, CA | York School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| David Frohling G | Santa Barbara, CA | San Marcos High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Preseason
### Pacific West coaches poll

The Pacific West Conference coaches poll was released on October 31, 2018. Point Loma Nazarene was picked to finish first in the Pacific West Conference with 142 points and 10 first-place votes.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Point Loma Nazarene | 142 (10) |
| 2 | Azusa Pacific | 122 (2) |
| 3 | Concordia | 118 |
| 4 | Chaminade | 104 |
| 5 | Hawai'i Pacific | 99 |
| 6 | Academy of Art | 78 |
| 7 | Biola | 70 |
| 8 | Dominican | 53 |
| 9 | Hawai'i Hilo | 51 |
| 10 | Holy Names | 47 |
| 11 | Fresno Pacific | 36 |
| 12 | Notre Dame de Namur | 16 |

### Preseason All-Pacific West teams

Daulton Hommes, Preston Beverly, and Josh Rodriguez were selected to the All-Pacific West Preseason Team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2018* 3:00 p.m. | | Montana State Billings Sea Lion Tip-Off Classic | W 100–75 | 1–0 | 33 – Hommes | 7 – Satterthwaite | 11 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (301) San Diego, CA |
| November 10, 2018* 7:30 p.m. | | Saint Martin's Sea Lion Tip-Off Classic | L 76–81 | 1–1 | 37 – Hommes | 8 – Hommes | 6 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (302) San Diego, CA |
| November 14, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | No. 15 UC San Diego | W 75–73 | 2–1 | 15 – Tied | 12 – Beverly | 3 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (722) San Diego, CA |
| November 17, 2018* 8:00 p.m. | | San Diego Christian | W 85–49 | 3–1 | 24 – Satterthwaite | 13 – Satterthwaite | 5 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (1,661) San Diego, CA |
| November 23, 2018* 7:30 p.m. | | Cal State San Bernardino Thanksgiving Classic | W 83–68 | 4–1 | 30 – Hommes | 15 – Beverly | 2 – Tied | Golden Gymnasium (263) San Diego, CA |
| November 24, 2018* 7:30 p.m. | | No. 16 St. Cloud State Thanksgiving Classic | L 65–74 | 4–2 | 21 – Hommes | 8 – Hommes | 4 – Tied | Golden Gymnasium (172) San Diego, CA |
| Pacific West regular season |||||||||
| November 29, 2018 7:30 p.m. | | at Academy of Art | W 54–51 | 5–2 (1–0) | 16 – Hommes | 8 – Satterthwaite | 1 – Tied | Kezar Pavilion (40) San Francisco, CA |
| December 1, 2018 7:30 p.m. | | at Dominican | W 90–65 | 6–2 (2–0) | 15 – Anderson | 6 – Beverly | 3 – Rodriguez | Conlan Center (133) San Rafael, CA |
| December 5, 2018 7:30 p.m. | | at Biola | W 82–54 | 7–2 (3–0) | 18 – Hommes | 8 – Beverly | 7 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (278) San Diego, CA |
| December 8, 2018 4:00 p.m. | | Azusa Pacific | W 69–54 | 8–2 (4–0) | 19 – Hommes | 10 – Somers | 3 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (417) San Diego, CA |
| December 17, 2018 4:30 p.m. | | at Fresno Pacific | W 78–56 | 9–2 (5–0) | 21 – Rodriguez | 11 – Hommes | 6 – Rodriguez | Special Events Center (213) Fresno, CA |
| December 29, 2018 4:00 p.m. | No. 24 | Holy Names | W 80–74 | 10–2 (6–0) | 21 – Hommes | 8 – Somers | 5 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (267) San Diego, CA |
| December 31, 2018 4:00 p.m. | No. 24 | Notre Dame de Namur | W 75–56 | 11–2 (7–0) | 16 – Hommes | 11 – Satterthwaite | 5 – tied | Golden Gymnasium (177) San Diego, CA |
| January 2, 2019 7:30 p.m. | No. 24 | at Biola | W 68–65 | 12–2 (8–0) | 19 – Hommes | 8 – Satterthwaite | 3 – Satterthwaite | Chase Gymnasium (440) La Mirada, CA |
| January 7, 2019 7:30 p.m. | No. 24 | at Azusa Pacific | W 86–77 | 13–2 (9–0) | 16 – Beverly | 10 – Satterthwaite | 7 – Rodriguez | Felix Event Center (729) Azusa, CA |
| January 15, 2019 8:30 p.m. | No. 11 | at Hawaii Pacific | W 68–60 | 14–2 (10–0) | 17 – Hommes | 7 – tied | 7 – Rodriguez | Neal S. Blaisdell Center (236) Honolulu, HI |
| January 17, 2019 7:30 p.m. | No. 11 | at No. 19 Chaminade | W 75–71 | 15–2 (11–0) | 28 – Hommes | 9 – Beverly | 5 – Beverly | McCabe Gymnasium (213) Honolulu, HI |
| January 19, 2019 9:30 p.m. | No. 11 | at Hawaii–Hilo | W 95–85 | 16–2 (12–0) | 24 – Satterthwaite | 9 – Beverly | 11 – Rodriguez | Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium (503) Honolulu, HI |
| January 24, 2019 7:30 p.m. | No. 10 | Dominican | W 94–57 | 17–2 (13–0) | 36 – Hommes | 13 – Beverly | 4 – Somers | Golden Gymnasium (451) San Diego, CA |
| January 26, 2019 4:15 p.m. | No. 10 | Academy of Art | W 85–66 | 18–2 (14–0) | 33 – Hommes | 12 – Beverly | 5 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (301) San Diego, CA |
| February 2, 2019 7:30 p.m. | No. 10 | at Concordia | L 85–91 | 18–3 (14–1) | 28 – Hommes | 11 – Hommes | 7 – Rodriguez | CU Arena (678) Irvine, CA |
| February 7, 2019 7:30 p.m. | No. 9 | at Notre Dame de Namur | W 73–39 | 19–3 (15–1) | 18 – Anderson | 12 – Beverly | 5 – Beverly | Walter Gleason Gym (110) Belmont, CA |
| February 9, 2019 6:00 p.m. | No. 9 | at Holy Names | W 82–57 | 20–3 (16–1) | 35 – Hommes | 8 – Beverly | 5 – Mackenzie | Tobin Gymnasium (114) Oakland, CA |
| February 14, 2019 7:30 p.m. | No. 8 | Hawaii–Hilo | L 77–81 | 20–4 (16–2) | 20 – Beverly | 7 – tied | 6 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (336) San Diego, CA |
| February 16, 2019 4:00 p.m. | No. 8 | No. 22 Chaminade | W 97–92 | 21–4 (17–2) | 27 – Hommes | 6 – tied | 4 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (422) San Diego, CA |
| February 21, 2019 7:45 p.m. | No. 16 | Hawaii Pacific | W 106–47 | 22–4 (18–2) | 28 – Hommes | 10 – Somers | 4 – tied | Golden Gymnasium (604) San Diego, CA |
| February 23, 2019 7:30 p.m. | No. 16 | Fresno Pacific | W 91–71 | 23–4 (19–2) | 23 – Beverly | 8 – Hommes | 5 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (352) San Diego, CA |
| March 2, 2019 4:00 p.m. | No. 12 | Concordia | W 93–83 | 24–4 (20–2) | 25 – Beverly | 8 – Hommes | 5 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (848) San Diego, CA |
| Pacific West tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2019 3:00 p.m. | (1) | vs. (4) Azusa Pacific Semifinals | W 77–65 | 25–4 | 19 – Beverly | 11 – Beverly | 4 – Rodriguez | Conlan Center (161) San Rafael, CA |
| March 9, 2019 2:00 p.m. | (1) | vs. (2) Concordia Championship | W 67–58 | 26–4 | 19 – Hommes | 13 – Satterthwaite | 2 – Hommes | Conlan Center (251) San Rafael, CA |
| NCAA DII tournament |||||||||
| March 15, 2019 7:30 p.m. | (1) | vs. (8) Western Oregon West Regional First Round | W 70–58 | 27–4 | 21 – Hommes | 7 – tied | 3 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (1,274) San Diego, CA |
| March 16, 2019 7:30 p.m. | (1) | vs. (4) UC San Diego West Regional Second Round | W 73–50 | 28–4 | 27 – Hommes | 11 – Hommes | 2 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (1,303) San Diego, CA |
| March 18, 2019 7:30 p.m. | (1) | vs. (3) Saint Martin's West Regional Championship | W 60–54 | 29–4 | 25 – Hommes | 9 – Beverly | 4 – Rodriguez | Golden Gymnasium (1,828) San Diego, CA |
| March 27, 2019 6:30 p.m. | (6) | vs. (3) Queens Elite Eight | W 87–74 | 30–4 | 22 – tied | 8 – Satterthwaite | 3 – tied | Ford Center (7,330) Evansville, IN |
| March 28, 2019 6:30 p.m. | (6) | vs. (7) Southern Indiana Final Four | W 81–71 | 31–4 | 20 – Hommes | 8 – tied | 7 – Rodriguez | Ford Center (5,965) Evansville, IN |
| March 30, 2019 12:00 p.m. | (6) | vs. (1) Northwest Missouri State National Championship | L 58–64 | 31–5 | 26 – Hommes | 9 – Beverly | 3 – Rodriguez | Ford Center (4,269) Evansville, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific. |||||||||
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