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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Point Loma coach and Central Valley graduate Ryan Looney keeps on winning

Point Loma head coach Ryan Looney, a Central Valley graduate, reacts to a call during an NCAA college Division II men’s basketball championship game against Northwest Missouri State in Evansville, Indiana, on Saturday. (MaCabe Brown / AP)

As Ryan Looney made the short walk home from his Point Loma Nazarene office Monday, he could hear waves hit the warm, sandy beach that touches the San Diego school’s picturesque campus.

To his left is the Pacific Ocean. To his right is a stunning view of San Diego Bay and the city skyline.

Quite the perk for Looney, a 1994 Central Valley graduate who coached Point Loma to Saturday’s NCAA Division II men’s national title game.

The Sea Lions – eight years removed from NAIA membership – fell 64-58 to undefeated Northwest Missouri State.

Looney, 42, swiftly took the program to unfamiliar heights. It finished 11th in the 14-team Pacwest Conference in 2016, two months before he was named head coach.

“It’s about building a strong culture,” said Looney, a purist of former Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan’s swing offense. “And recruiting good players that buy into our system and culture.”

It’s worked everywhere he’s been and with rosters littered with Pacific Northwest talent.

Looney’s previous seven years were at Seattle Pacific, where he led the Falcons to the NCAA Division II tournament each season.

He had a few Spokane-area products at SPU, including Riley Stockton (Ferris) and Shawn Reid (Post Falls).

In 2010, SPU opened its season with with wins over NCAA Division I Eastern Washington and Nevada. In 2011, it beat Arizona in a season-opening exhibition.

But Seattle Pacific was already a tradition-rich program when Looney was given the reins in 2009, unlike his previous gig in La Grande, Oregon.

Eastern Oregon, where Looney played his junior and senior seasons, was an NAIA program in shambles when he was named EOU’s head coach in 2004. He was 28.

By his third season, the Mountaineers were competing for a Cascade Collegiate Conference title. In seasons four and five, EOU qualified for the NAIA national tournament and made a run to the quarterfinals in 2009.

Jeremy Templeton (Ferris), Kyle Janke (West Valley) and Derek Brown (Mt. Spokane) were among Looney’s most decorated EOU players from Spokane, where his parents and sister still reside.

“Throughout my career, I’ve kept in contact with a network of coaches back in Spokane,” Looney said. “I still keep tabs on the high school and junior college players in that area.”

Six players from Looney’s 31-5 team this past season are from the state of Washington. NCAA Division II Player of the Year Dalton Hommes, a 6-foot-7 guard with NBA potential, according to some, is a Lynden native.

Ziggy Satterthwaite, who played his first two seasons at North Idaho College, was an All-Pacwest forward this season.

“We recruit to our system,” Looney said. “We like big, skilled players who do well in the classroom.”

Former Central Valley head coach Terry Irwin, who coached Looney in the early 1990s, isn’t surprised by his success.

“He was very disciplined, a hard worker and unselfish,” said the retired Irwin, who now lives in Helena, Montana. “He carried all those things into coaching.

“You can see it in his players. They’ve all taken on his personality in how they attack the game.”

With Looney’s immense success at his first three head coaching stops – two with tough academic standards – comes the obvious question: If a Division I program were to come calling, would he accept its offer?

“I’m blessed to be in the position I am right now at Point Loma,” said Looney. “(Getting a Division I head coaching job) is something I’ve thought about before, but it would have to really be the right situation.”

Irwin said he’s certain Looney will one day make the upward move.

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Irwin said.

Looney’s moves weren’t just about basketball, though.

A big reason Looney left Seattle Pacific for another Division II job, he said, was because he was often battling Seattle gridlock to get home to his young family, a commute to Edmonds took about an hour each way.

Now he’s happy to live down the street from one of the most scenic college campuses in the world, where students can be seen on video packing Golden Gym for its stretch of early postseason games.

A throng of students welcomed to team home at the airport Saturday night following its national title game loss.

“There’s a lot of support here,” he said. “It’s a special place.”