Back after two ACL tears, Point Loma Nazarene’s Jake Lifgren finds balance on, off basketball court

Through his first two seasons as the Point Loma Nazarene University men’s basketball coach, Justin Downer won 50 games and led the Sea Lions to an NCAA Division II regional championship appearance.

But when he looks back, Downer can’t help wondering what might have been.

What if 6-foot-7 swingman Luke Haupt hadn’t torn his ACL in the 2023 PacWest Tournament — or spent the following season battling ankle issues?

And what if point guard Jake Lifgren, an 18-points-per-game scorer, hadn’t gone down with an ACL tear in January of the 2023–24 season — and then torn the same ligament again on the eve of the next one?

What if Downer’s two cornerstone players had shared the floor for a full postseason run?

“One of the biggest question marks in the history of Point Loma Nazarene men’s basketball — even 50 years from now — will be, ‘What if Luke and Jake had played together?’” Downer said. “That’s something we’ll probably always wonder.”

Some questions won’t be answered. Haupt transferred to New Mexico last spring, and is playing for former UCSD coach Eric Olen with the Lobos.

But Lifgren is back. He returned on Nov. 28, scoring five points in Point Loma’s 94-78 home win over Central Washington. It was his first game in nearly 700 days.

“Jake and I have a special relationship,” Downer said. “He stayed on through the coaching transition. I put a lot of trust in him, and he had an unbelievable start in my first year. Now we’ve been on this road together for two years. This is not only a great moment for our program, but a great moment for him.”

At the 15:50 mark of the first half, Lifgren checked in for junior guard Tyce Paulsen. His first touch produced an assist on a James Nobles layup; in his next rotation, he drilled a pull-up jumper inside the arc for his first points since 2024.

Lifgren played again the next day, scoring nine points on 4-of-7 shooting in an 80-73 loss to Seattle Pacific.

PLNU, ranked fourth nationally in the Division II NABC Coaches Poll, is 5–1 through its first six games. The Sea Lions travel to Rocklin on Thursday to face Jessup University.

Lifgren’s role is still taking shape. Just four other PLNU players — Paulsen, Luke Smith, Jaden Matingou and Andrew Hommes — had played with him before this season.

“They don’t know what to expect from me,” Lifgren said. “I’m being open to whatever position and role I’m in, and just kind of filling that to the best of my ability.”

Or, as Downer said: “Does he pick up where he left off as a 20-point-per-game player? Is he a secondary piece, a starter, or a guy off the bench? He can’t control many variables — all he can do is show up and listen.”

Lifgren initially tore his left ACL in January 2024 during a 61-50 win at Biola, a non-contact injury on an awkward plant after a layup. He’d scored 19 points that night. The loss of their star point guard stalled a promising Sea Lions season that ended with a 78-66 defeat to Azusa Pacific in the PacWest championship game.

“Losing him was a crucial part of our offense, and it was really hard for us to turn things around at first,” Paulsen said. “We were able to adapt, but he brings a different aspect to the team that nobody else really has.”

Lifgren was ramping up on-court work for the 2024-25 season when another awkward plant led to a familiar sense that something was wrong. He had re-torn the surgically repaired ligament.

“I knew right away; the feeling isn’t something you forget,” Lifgren said. “It’s been an up-and-down process — some days I feel good, some days I don’t. I’ve definitely had those ‘Why me?’ thoughts. I was playing really well my sophomore year, and then it happened. You go through it, but life happens.”

The second rehab was far more detailed. Downer and the medical staff monitored Lifgren’s heart rate, immune function, fatigue, and strength — “we shut him down any day the numbers were off,” Downer said — and delayed any weight-bearing work for weeks. Because Lifgren is slightly bowlegged, much of the work centered on strengthening and aligning his hips to better support his knees.

“The way we went about it this time was just better,” Lifgren said. “I’ve been disciplined in areas I wasn’t last time — eating, sleeping, family, my overall mood. After the first tear, I put weight on my knee right away; this time, it was no weight-bearing for six to eight weeks. Strengthening and stretching my hips has given us all more confidence moving forward.”

Lifgren said his faith and a strong support system helped on the hardest days. He’s back on the court again, but isn’t consumed by the sport like he once was.

“I’ve gotten to the point where basketball isn’t everything,” he said. “I choose to be firm in my faith, to be a child of God, and to let basketball just be what it is — not my entire life.”