By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
SAN DIEGO – Squaring off against top seed and tournament host Point Loma on Friday evening, No. 8 seed Seattle Pacific fell short, 68-54, at Golden Gym in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball West Region Championships.
The host Sea Lions maintained command of the game throughout, building a 35-28 halftime advantage and never wavering across the final 20 minutes en route to the victory. Point Loma’s Zack Paulsen led all players with 20 points, converting 7 of 16 field goals in 33 minutes. Luke Haupt had 13 points and team highs of eight rebounds and four assists, while Coby Barnes (11 points) and Jaden Matingou (10 points) each also reached double figures in scoring.
Point Loma (28-5) advances to the second round on Saturday, where it will face the winner of No. 5 seed Cal State San Bernardino and No. 4 seed Biola, who play later Friday evening. Tipoff on Saturday is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Seattle Pacific (18-16) found magic at last week’s Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, rattling off three straight wins to claim its conference-record fifth tournament title and first since 2019. It took winning the championship crown – which secured the Falcons the GNAC’s automatic regional berth – to set up Friday’s matchup against the No. 1 seed Sea Lions. SPU managed to keep pace for the majority of the game, until Point Loma pulled away midway through the second half. “I am proud of the fight and the season we have had to this point,” said
Keffrey Fazio, who is in his second season leading the Falcons. “We are digesting and soaking this one in, but there will be a lot for us to celebrate when we get back together.”
GNAC Championships MVP
Mason Landdeck led his team with 15 points including three 3-pointers, and first-team all-conference guard
Jaxon Nap posted his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Seattle Pacific out-rebounded Point Loma 37-31 but committed 15 turnovers compared with just eight giveaways by the hosts. SPU shot 40.4% (21-for-52) in the game, went 4-for-16 from distance (25.0%) and made 8 of 12 free throws (66.7%).
Owen Moriarty chipped in nine points and
Trace Evans had eight points and six rebounds in 19 solid minutes. “Full credit to our boys in the first half – we came out with a decent bit of pop and hung with them,” said Evans, a senior from New South Wales, Australia. “The shots just didn’t drop and we sort of went away from what we were doing well. With a team like this, Point Loma – full credit to them. They made a lot of shots and they played well.”
Neither team led by more than four points across a balanced first 12 minutes of play, and after a Landdeck trey the score read 25-25 with 3:32 to go before halftime. Paulsen connected on a pair of threes to lead a 10-3 Point Loma run that ended the half with the hosts up by seven.
The Falcons stayed within reach to start the second half, keeping the deficit in single digits until a Matingou three with 11:02 to go made the score 48-36. From there it ballooned to a 20-point game across the next seven minutes, as SPU dug a hole that proved too deep to climb out of in the waning minutes.
Point Loma shot 40.4 % (23-for-57) overall and 31.8% (7-for-22) from long range, while knocking down 15 of 18 free throws (83.3%). “They’re a good team, and they don’t make a lot of mistakes,” said Nap, a first-year transfer from University of Montana who led the GNAC with 10.0 rebounds per game this season. “I turned the ball over too much and took away too many possessions from my teammates, and they shoot from those mistakes. It’s fun to be here, but I’m a little disappointed. I could’ve given my team more opportunities.”