Tobin Karlberg

After riding shotgun for most of the season, Tobin Karlberg of Anchorage drove the Point Loma men’s basketball team into the NCAA Sweet 16.

The 6-foot senior transfer bagged a season-high 26 points to highlight an 83-70 win over Academy of Art in Saturday’s regional semifinal in San Diego.

No. 4 Point Loma (29-3) ran its winning streak to 25 games and advanced to its second-ever Sweet 16, where the Sea Lions will face No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino (29-3) in a Monday night matchup between top-10 NCAA Division II teams.

Karlberg scored 14 of his team’s first 27 points and at one point knocked down six straight field goals, including five jumpers as his team built an eight-point lead.

Meanwhile, he blocked a shot and grabbed a steal. Then he ripped down an offensive rebound and ended the first half with two assists, the second one giving Loma a 44-34 lead at halftime.

Five minutes into the second half he knocked down his third 3-pointer of the game to make it 50-39. Another Karlberg jumper pushed Loma’s advantage to 57-45.

At crunch time, Loma turned to Karlberg to shoot a free throw after a technical foul, and he made it to make it 70-66. Then he sealed the deal with a layup and steal sequence to extend the lead to double figures inside the final minute.

Karlberg’s 26 are the second most points he’s scored in 117 career games. He set his career high of 28 points last season in his final appearance with his hometown UAA Seawolves.

The 2018 Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year is averaging 10.7 points in 31 games for Loma and earned Third Team All-Pac West Conference honors. His previous season high was 21 points came way back in November.

The former Grace Christian guard also surpassed 1,300 career points – the 26th Alaska man to do that at the college level.

When it comes to NCAA Division II scoring, Karlberg ranks tenth all-time among Alaskans after passing former NBA draft pick Tony Turner out of UAA by way of Bartlett High. Turner scored 1,289 points for the Seawolves from 1977 to 1980.

Karlberg is 28 points behind another former Bartlett standout in Andrew Smith, who scored 1,331 for UAF. East’s Peter Bullock ranks No. 1 on the list with 1,902 points at UAA and North Pole’s Brad Oleson is No. 2 with 1,883 points at UAF.

Additional Article Sponsors:
Midas Alaska, RE/MAX Dynamic Properties Kevin Taylor, R&M Consultants, Inc., Alaska Oil and Gas Association, BOSCO's, Continental Auto Group, Invisalign-Ben Ward, Kathleen Navarre
School Boosters:
Dr. Justin Libby, DDS, Kathie Bethard, Joe Alston