Friday, March 15, 2019

SAN DIEGO – The home court advantage proved too much for No. 8 seed Western Oregon to handle Friday night as the Wolves bowed out of the NCAA Division II West Regional in the quarterfinals with a 70-58 loss to top-seeded Point Loma at Golden Gymnasium.

The Sea Lions held the hot hand all night, shooting 55.8 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range. Western Oregon was limited to 38.9 percent from the field and was kept off the free throw line, making 5 of 7 opportunities on the night.

Sophomore guard Darius Lubom led the Wolves with 17 points, making 6 of 11 from the field and 3 of 6 from three-point range. Senior Kaleb Warner contributed 15 and five rebounds in his final game in a WOU uniform.

Daulton Hommes, the PacWest Conference Player of the Year, led Point Loma with 21 points as he connected on 8 of 11 from the field. Preston Beverly finished with 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting.

With the win, Point Loma (27-4) will face No. 4 seed in the West Regional semifinals on Saturday. The Tritons beat Cal Poly Pomona earlier in the evening, 61-50. Western Oregon’s season comes to a close with a 22-11 overall record.

Western Oregon came out with the guns to match Point Loma’s potent offense early in the first half. The Wolves jumped out to a 6-2 lead on Etan Collins’ three-pointer two-and-a-half minutes into the period. After the Sea Lions tied it a 6-6, Western Oregon went on an 8-2 run which culminated on Lubom’s three-point play that allowed the guests a 14-6 lead at the 11:57 mark.

Point Loma responded with a 13-4 run of their own, culminating on a Beverly lay-up with 6:33 to go that provided the Sea Lions the 19-18 lead. The teams traded leads on the next two possessions before Point Loma closed on a 12-5 run in which Western Oregon was held to 2 of 6 from the field. Hommes provided the biggest lead of the period when his three made it 30-22 with 2:13 left and the Sea Lions went into halftime with the 32-25 lead.

Point Loma jumped quickly out of the gate in the second half, extending the lead to 15 points on Beverly’s jumper two minutes in. The Wolves slowly chipped away at the deficit, coming within 47-42 on a pair of Cameron Cranston free throws with 12:18 before back-to-back buckets by Josh Rodriguez and Beverly made it a 10-point lead away midway through the stanza.

It did not take long for the Wolves to cut it back to single digits again and narrowed the deficit to four points, 55-51, on Lubom’s three-pointer with 6:28 left. The shooting touch went cold from there, however, with the Wolves making just three field goals over the final six minutes.