IRVINE, Calif. – The opening round of the PacWest Men’s Basketball Championship saw Point Loma and Chaminade advance with victories. No. 6 PLNU moves on to play No. 2 California Baptist on Friday at 2:45 p.m. No. 4 Chaminade will face No. 1 Hawai’i Pacific at 7:15 p.m.
Point Loma 71 – Dixie State 69
No. 6 PLNU upset No. 3 Dixie State in a thrilling game, highlighted by an impressive performance from PLNU’s
Josh Rodriguez. He led the Sea Lions with 22 points, going 10-11 from the free throw line. His five steals tied for the tournament record, while his 10 assists put him at second all-time.
Trevor Hill put up 17 points and eight rebounds for the Trailblazers, while
Zac Hunter added 14 points and seven rebounds.
Dixie State made a major comeback in the fourth quarter, erasing a 20-point deficit with a three-pointer from Hunter with 29 seconds remaining.
Skyler White gave PLNU the win with a layup at the buzzer, off a feed from Rodriguez.
Chaminade 69 – Azusa Pacific 65
Chaminade took down No. 5 Azusa Pacific, 69-65. The Silverswords were led by
Sam Daly and
Kiran Shastri, each scoring 14 points.
Austin Pope led the team with 12 rebounds and added nine points.
Rohndell Goodwin had 11 points.
Connor Peterson led APU with 25 points, going 7-9 from the free throw line and 4-7 from behind the three-point line.
Petar Kutlesic notched a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.