Point Loma Nazarene (18-4, 11-1 PacWest) will carry an eight-game winning streak into Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game against Azusa Pacific (11-9, 6-6) at Golden Gymnasium.

The Sea Lions came back from an 11-point second-half deficit to pull out a 64-62 home win over Hawaii-Hilo on Saturday. They hold a four-game lead over second-place Academy of Art with seven games to play in the regular season.

The Sea Lions rank No. 13 nationally and No. 1 in the West Region, giving them the inside track for hosting the eight-team West Regional in the 64-team NCAA Division II tournament in March.

That was the path the Sea Lions took in 2019, when All-American Daulton Hommes led the way to home wins in the West Regional over Western Oregon, UC San Diego and Saint Martin’s and the Sea Lions advanced all the way to the national championship game.

Saint Martin’s (18-4) is right on their heels at No. 2 in the West. The Sea Lions earned a potentially crucial 92-88 win at then-No. 12 Saint Martin’s back on Nov. 23.

Different players continue to make big plays in crucial moments.

On Saturday, it was sophomore guard Jaden Matingou (St. Augustine High School) who made a slick behind-the-back, no-look pass to fellow reserve Pierce Davis, who then threw down a dunk. The sequence gave the Sea Lions their first lead of the second half.

Mantingou also contributed some tough defense to help close the game out.

“Sometimes coaching Jaden is like when you’re in the passenger seat of a friend’s car,” Downer said. “They’re going really fast and it’s really fun, but it gets to the point where it’s: this is really fun but also, are you gonna drive off the road?

“Tonight, we pulled into that driveway safely so credit to Jay and Pierce who have been giving us great minutes all year.”

Next up: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday vs. Azusa Pacific, .

UCSD’s Tait-Jones honored

UC San Diego wing Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was named Lou Henson National Player of the Week and earned his second Big West Player of the Week award after scoring 25 points in a win over UC Santa Barbara and 32 points in a win over Cal State Northridge.

The senior, who is in his second season at UCSD after two seasons at Hawaii-Hilo, leads the Tritons with 19.7 points per game. Over the last three games, Tait-Jones is averaging 29.6 points on 57.1% shooting while also going 30 of 35 from the free throw line.

UCSD (17-4, 7-2 Big West) ranks 11th in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and trails first-place UC Irvine (18-3, 8-1) by one game heading into Thursday’s contest at Hawaii (12-8, 4-5).

Irvine, which beat UCSD at LionTree Arena on Jan. 11, plays at Long Beach State on Thursday.

UCSD visits Irvine on Feb. 8 in a game that could help decide the regular season conference race.

Next up: 9 p.m. Thursday at Hawaii. Streaming: ESPN+

Toreros look to stop skid

USD (4-18, 1-8 WCC) is mired in an eight-game losing streak heading into Thursday’s game against Pepperdine. The Toreros’ next three games are against the Waves (8-13, 2-6), Loyola Marymount (12-8, 4-4) and at Pacific (6-17, 1-8).

The Toreros’ lone WCC win came at home against Pacific on Dec. 30 and they were competitive in a 77-70 loss at LMU on Jan. 18.

Freshman guard Tony Duckett (Carlsbad High School) continues to be a bright spot. He has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games while providing highlight-reel plays such as a soaring dunk to finish a fastbreak in a loss at San Francisco on Saturday.

Next up: 7 p.m. Thursday vs. Pepperdine. Streaming: ESPN+

Originally Published: January 28, 2025 at 3:20 PM PST