PLNU men, Cal State San Marcos women will continue NCAA Tournament marches on Monday night

NCAA Tournament brackets are being filled out throughout the country this week.

However, a pair of local teams are already right in the middle of the madness.

Point Loma Nazarene’s men’s basketball team and Cal State San Marcos’ women’s basketball team will both play for NCAA Division II West Region championships on Monday.

PLNU’s top-seeded men will host No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino at 7 p.m. in Golden Gymnasium. PLNU opened the Division II tournament by beating Northwest Nazarene, 87-64, then dispatched Academy of Art 83-70 late Saturday. Alaska-Anchorage transfer Tobin Karlberg led the Sea Lions with 26 points, while Kaden Anderson added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

“Tobin was spectacular,” PLNU coach Matt Logie told reporters. “He’s a guy who’s been putting up numbers for a long time in college and has been very productive. He came here to create a moment like this.

“He went through the fire a little bit early in the year with the transition to a new system and to new teammates, but he was so selfless for this group. To see him come out on that stage and have a game like that is super rewarding.”

San Bernardino advanced Saturday by beating Cal State San Marcos, 67-61. San Marcos shot just 35.7 percent from the field in the loss. Quinn Denker led the Cougars in scoring with 24 points.

PLNU is hoping for another deep tournament run. It advnaced to the national championship game last season, where it fell 64-58 to Northwest Missouri State.

Cal State San Marcos’ women, meanwhile, have advanced to the first Sweet 16 in program history. The third-seeded Cougars beat Azuza Pacific 75-67 on Saturday night, advancing to Monday night’s regional final against top-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Dominguez Hills’ Torodome.

The Cougars trailed APU heading into Saturday’s fourth quarter but outscored their opponent 26-10 down the stretch. Charity Gallegos scored 21 points, one day after posting 27 in a first-round win over Central Washington. She added five rebounds and four assists. Kelsey Forrester added 15 points and four rebounds.