Baseball program prepares to open season Feb. 1 Point Loma student-athletes Brett Carlile and Trey Hunt have both been voted to the preseason All-Pacific West Conference team by the league’s coaches.
Carlile was one of just three pitchers to make the team and was the only one selected as a reliever. Last year, Carlile appeared in 18 games for the Sea Lions — 16 out of the bullpen — and posted a 2-1 record with a 3.48 earned-run average. He allowed just 31 hits in 33.2 innings pitched and struck out 33 batters. He also had one save and opponents hit just .254 off him. Hunt was named to the preseason all-conference team as an outfielder. He was a third team all-conference selection last season after hitting .318 with a .369 on-base percentage. He was second on the team with 22 runs batted in, 28 runs scored and 63 total bases. He struck out just 18 times in 179 at-bats and also added six outfield assists.
In the same poll, the Sea Lions were one of four teams picked to finish third in the PacWest standings. Azusa Pacific, Hawaii Pacific, Fresno Pacific and PLNU each received 61 points in the voting to tie for third. Point Loma will open its 2014 season on Saturday, Feb. 1 at home against Cal Poly Pomona in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. PLNU men’s basketball entering home stretch of season This year, the Point Loma Nazarene University men’s basketball team is 10-7 overall and in eighth place in the PacWest with a 5-6 record in conference. The Sea Lions played much of their early season schedule on the road but will close out the season with seven of its last nine games at home starting Saturday, Jan. 25. Hayden Lescault leads PLNU and ranks sixth in the PacWest with 16.8 points per game. He also ranks fourth in the conference in steals (1.7), eighth in assists (4.1) and fifth in minutes (34.7), while leading the team in each category. Junior Morgan has provided PLNU with a solid presence in the paint since joining the team this offseason. He is averaging 14.4 points per game and 6.5 rebounds to rank 14th in the PacWest in both categories. He is also ranked ninth in the PacWest in shooting percentage at .554. Fellow big man AJ Ussery is seventh in the PacWest in shooting percentage (.566), 11th in rebounding (6.6) and fourth in blocks (1.6). Point guard Marek Klassen ranks sixth in the PacWest in 3-pointers per game (2.4), ninth in assists (3.9) and 19th in scoring (12.8). As a team, Point Loma leads the PacWest in scoring defense, allowing just 69.1 points per game. Their opponents are shooting just .424 percent from the field (second in the PacWest) and .342 from 3-point range. On offense, PLNU is third in the conference with a .492 field-goal percentage and ranks third in assists (14.4) and fifth in 3-pointers made (6.9). PLNU women’s basketball clings to 6th in PacWest he Sea Lions women’s basketball team is 8-7 on the season and in sixth place in the PacWest standings (6-5). They will also have the opportunity to play a majority of their games down the stretch at Golden Gymnasium. The Sea Lions will host teams in eight of its final 11 contests, nine of which will be against PacWest opponents. Callie Rhoads leads PLNU and ranks fifth in the PacWest with 15.3 points per game. She is fourth in the league with both a .440 shooting percentage from 3-point range and 2.6 treys made per game. She is also ninth in minutes played (32.1). Point guard Savannah Erskine is leading the league in steals (4.1) and assists (5.4). She is also averaging 10.9 ppg and is shooting .841 percent from the free-throw line (eighth in the PacWest). Abby Boorman is leading the PacWest with 2.7 blocks per game and is 11th in rebounding (7.4). As a team, PLNU ranks third in the PacWest in scoring defense at 65.9 points per game and leads the league in steals (12.3). They also rank second in the league in blocks (4.1), turnover margin (+3.6), 3-point percentage (.352) and 3-pointers made per game (7.8). Ussery named PacWest defender of the week The Point Loma men’s basketball team’s AJ Ussery was named the Pacific West Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 13-19.
Ussery had five blocks and 10 rebounds to go along with eight points in a 75-74 buzzer-beating loss to Azusa Pacific. Ussery is averaging 2.5 blocks per game in his last six contests and ranks fourth overall in the PacWest with 1.6 blocks per game.