SAN DIEGO —Hawai'i Pacific University lost for the first time on the road this season, dropping the first game of a four-game of a Southern California swing to Point Loma 87-65 on Saturday evening at Golden Gym.
 
The Sharks (9-6, 4-3) fell for the second time in the last three games. The Sea Lions (13-6, 7-3) won for the third straight game.
 
The 22-point loss was the first time HPU lost by 20 since the 2015-16 season and the worst loss since a 78-50 decision at Azusa Pacific on Feb. 14, 2015.
 
The Sharks were led by junior forward Jonathan Janssen of Noosa Head, Australia/Mountain State, with 20 points to go with four rebounds. It was Janssen's third 20-point game of the season. Senior forward Niksha Federico of San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic, the PacWest's leading scorer and rebounder, was held to a season low 13 points and led HPU with five rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Darnell Bettis of Los Angeles/University added 11 points for the Sharks.
 
Point Loma was led by Preston Beverly off the bench with 26 points and four blocked shots, as Sterling Somers collected 17 points and seven rebounds. Ziggy Satterthwaite double-doubled with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Rodriguez scored 13 points with three steals.
 
HPU shot 49 percent (24-of-49) from the field for the game, but hit just 4-of-17 shots (24 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks made 13-of-15 (87 percent) from the foul line. Point Loma hit 54 percent (23-of-61) from the floor, including 9-of-21 (43 percent) from 3-point range. The Sea Lions also made 12-of-17 (71 percent) from the charity stripe. Point Loma crushed the Sharks 36-20 on the boards, while HPU suffered 13 turnovers to PLNU's 10.
 
HPU got the opening points of the game, as Janssen got a layup and after an opening triple by Somers, added a layups from Bettis and Janssen to tie the game at six.
 
But the Sea Lions answered with a 10-0 run and never looked back. In fact, PLNU hit four straight 3-pointers and a pair of layups to hit the defending PacWest Champs early.
 
HPU battled back to get the game back within five points a few times during the second half, the last on a layup by senior guard Larry Lewis of Milwaukee, Wisc./Arcadia, but Point Loma answered earch comeback. PLNU carried a 10-point 46-36 advantage into the half on Yusuf Shehata's layup with six seconds to play.
 
The Sharks and Sea Lions played even through the opening minutes of the second half, with HPU pulling back within eight on a Janssen layup at 12:00, but a 3-pointer from Noah Stapes put Point Loma back up by 11 and the Sea Lions led by double-digits the rest of the way.
 
HPU can't dwell for long on the loss. The Sharks visit California Baptist on Monday night at the new CBU Event Center. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. HST (7 p.m. PST).