Costa Mesa, CA — The Royals advance to 19-10 overall and 7-9 in GSAC after taking down the Lions on Thursday night. The Royals have won four straight GSAC games after defeating Vanguard 75-72. The Lions started the game with a 7-0 scoring run to give the Royals an early deficit, but HIU did not settle. The Royals responded with a 19-4 scoring run of their own to take the lead halfway into the first half and never looked back. The rest of the half was a battle as the Royals and Lions exchanged bucket for bucket making it a two-point game at halftime. Lloyd Wright (SR/Melbourne, Australia) led the Royals in the first half with 13 points. In the first four minutes of the second half, Eric Toles (SR/Sacramento, CA) made back to back layups to gain an eight-point lead for the Royals. The Lions continued to push on offense as they kept the game close, but the Royals did not let them take the lead. After allowing the Lions to hit shots from behind the arc, the Royals found themselves with a one-point lead with just twenty seconds left. HIU took advantage of their free throws to increase their lead by three and put the pressure on the Lions to make a buzzer-beater to send the game into overtime. The Lions were not successful in their attempt and the Royals took the game 75-72. Michael Fry (SR/Inglewood, CA) recorded a double-double in tonight's game with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Eric Toles, Lloyd Wright, and Josh Powell-Davis (JR/Oakland, CA) each added 13 points of their own against the Lions. The Royals will host #6 Westmont Saturday at 4:00 pm for their final game of the GSAC regular season. Prior to the game, the Royals will honor their nine seniors.