CLAREMONT, Calif. - In a rematch of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) finale a week ago, Cal Lutheran met Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on the court again tonight in the SCIAC Post Season Tournament Semifinal round. The stakes were much higher and fortunately for CLU the Kingsmen have a short term memory, quickly erasing that 21-point loss, coming into the night knowing it was a win-or-go-home game. A fast start and a strong finish aided the Violet and Gold in walking out of the Ducey Gymnasium, for the final time, with a 54-53 victory and an opportunity to play for an NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Playoff berth.
A high intensity, high energy game featured two feisty, physical, evenly matched teams battling and grinding until the final buzzer. With a career night in the books from junior Arik Smith, who provided 31 points, and an all-around team effort down the stretch the Kingsmen were able to capitalize on a missed free-throw from CMS with less than 10 seconds to play. Coltrane Powdrill came down with the rebound and his teammates filled their respective lanes, making space for the junior forward to drive down the court, do a quick stutter step and bank a basket from inside the key for the game-winner just 2.4 ticks before the final horn.
"Coming into this game I really just wanted to give every ounce of energy I had for our seniors," Smith shared after the win. "They have worked hard for four years playing at Cal Lutheran and have never gotten a taste of a Post Season Championship," he went on, "My mindset was attack, attack, attack and to keep that mindset no matter what happened."
Smith was not the only one who attacked tonight. Senior Michael Palmer also went all out, scoring 13 points on a 5-for-7 night that included a 3-for-4 performance from long range with a crucial one late in the second half. Powdrill chipped in with eight and Collin Knudsen accounted for the remaining two points.
CMS shot at a slightly higher clip from the field (40.8 percent) than Cal Lutheran (38.8) and came down with more rebounds (32-30), but it was the opportunities at the charity stripe that made all the difference tonight. Backed by a 7-for-7 night from Smith, the Kingsmen connected for 91.7 percent (11-for-12) while the Stags converted just 50 percent (7-for-14), which was detrimental to the No. 1 seed.
Unlike a week ago, Cal Lutheran seized momentum early by pouring in 12 of the initial 13 points, building a 12-1 advantage over the first seven minutes of play. Smith rolled from the start, scoring the first eight CLU points of the game and 12 of the first 14.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Remy Pinson and Tyler Gaffaney on the next two CMS possessions cut the CLU lead in half, starting the Stags on a 10-2 run that got the home squad within a single possession. A pair of free-throws at the 8:12 mark whittled the gap down to one and again CMS pulled to a single point at 19-18. Shots were not falling for either team over the final 6:45 with the squads combining for a total of just nine points, though the halftime advantage went to CLU, 24-22.
Out of the locker rooms, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps forced a turnover and the Stags put up a crooked number, tying things up for the first time since the opening tip-off.
Just as it looked like the Stags were going to make a move and pull away Smith and Palmereach hit shots from long range, knotting things up again at 34-34.
Both teams seemingly hit cold streaks until Smith went to the line, finishing off a three-point play and giving CLU a 47-44 advantage with under three minutes to play. Pinson and Gaffaney each connected and CMS used a timeout with 1:56 remaining in regulation. Palmer erased the deficit again and Smith made two free-throws. Though the Stags churned out the next five points, the difference maker came with just less than three ticks to go when Powdrillscored the game-winner leaving Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to lift a last second miracle attempt from three-quarters court that did not fall.
It was a much cleaner second half after each team had trouble taking care of the basketball in the first half, combining for 19 turnovers.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (20-6) saw its season end with two players reaching double figures. Pinson and Gaffaney finished with 16 and 14, respectively, while Shelby Lane had a game-high nine rebounds.
Facing off for the third time this season, second in a week, was beneficial for the Kingsmen.
"It helped that we just played them, and our coaches did a great job of making adjustments on both the offensive and defensive ends," Smith noted.
The coaching staff will be back at it tonight preparing for a quick turnaround to face off with Chapman (17-9) after the Panthers upset No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer (18-8) 69-54 in the other Semifinal game tonight. Tip-off for the SCIAC Post Season Tournament title game will take place at 7:30 p.m. Admission fees of $5.00 will be collected at the door for all adults, though students with IDs will be admitted for free.
The tournament champion will move on to represent the SCIAC on the national level. The 2014 NCAA Division III Selection Show is set to take place on Monday, March 3 at 9:30 a.m. (PST).
Box Score: CLU 54, CMS 53
CLU Twitter: https://twitter.com/clusports
Follow Collin: @CLUBasketball
CLU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports
CLU Instagram: http://instagram.com/clusports#
