Point Loma junior Dalton Hommes (No. 34) drives to the bucket with teammate Sterling Somers (No. 13) in the background. PHOTO: David Arthur via PLNU Athletics
Daulton Hommes Pushes Point Loma on to Final Four
March 27, 2019
Point Loma stars Daulton Hommes and Preston Beverly put on a show Wednesday night at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana culminating with a trip to the Final Four. Hommes and Beverly each scored 22 points to lead the 6th seeded Sea Lions past No. 3 seeded Queens University 87-74 in an Elite Eight match-up at the NCAA Division 2 men's basketball tournament.
Hommes, the former Lynden Christian and Western Washington university standout, went 7-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point land. He also added 7 rebounds, 3 assists and two steals as Point Loma notched their 10th straight victory.
Former Lynden High School star Sterling Somers totaled 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 27 minutes worth of action to help PLNU move to within two games of a national championship.
The Sea Lions advanced to the Final Four with a strong defensive performance. Shaun Willett led the Royals with a game-high 27 points and 11 rebounds, While the senior tallied his NCAA leading 27th double-double this year, Queens struggled offensively overall. Point Loma held them to 15 points below their scoring average on 41% shooting from the floor and just 22% from beyond the arc.
Tied at 14 in the first half PLNU opened up the game with a 13-0 run by holding Queens scoreless for five minutes. The Sea Lions would never trail again and led 40-29 at halftime.
Queens pulled back within two points in the second half, but the Sea Lions responded with another run to eventually put the game away.
One of the highlights of the game for Point Loma was when Hommes used a fake pass to get wide open on the wing for his third 3-pointer of the game. On the next possession, Beverly fed Hommes the ball in transition for a crowd-pleasing dunk. Hommes hustled back on defense and got a block in the key on the other end.
The Sea Lions (30-4) advance to face No. 7 seed Southern Indiana Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (PST). Southern Indiana advanced with a 94-84 upset victory over No. 2 West Texas A&M on Wednesday.
- Doug Lange
*Information from www.plnusealions.com used in this story.
Point Loma fans cheer during the Sea Lions 87-74 victory over Queens University in the NCAA D2 Elite Eight. PHOTO: David Arthur via PLNU Athletics
Point Loma junior Sterling Somers looks to pass against Queens University. PHOTO: David Arthur via PLNU Athletics
