THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The recent history between the teams coupled with identical Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) records entering the night indicated that a hard fought game was on tap. Cal Lutheran and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps did not disappoint, though it was the Stags who walked out of the Gilbert Arena with a 73-65 victory tonight.
Three days removed from dropping their first league contest of the year on a buzzer-beater, the Kingsmen returned to the court where unfortunately, the result was the same after CMS used a late first half surge and controlled the pace of play in the second stanza.
A Guy Lynott free-throw early in the game gave CLU a 9-8 advantage, but CMS scored the next six points to take a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest. Arik Smith pulled the home team within one at 14-13 and the squads would remain close until the 3:03 mark. Coltrane Powdrill put in a pair of free-throws to cut the deficit to two at 20-18 and Smith knocked down a three-pointer with 3:20 to make it a one possession game at 26-23. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, however, closed out the half with a 7-0 run to take a 33-23 lead into the intermission.
Out of the break, Smith scored the first bucket and a potential turning-point in the game came at the 16:37 mark when Powdrill converted an and-one to pull CLU to 36-30. He also used a defensive rebound to pour in another jumper, cutting the deficit to 40-36 moments later. The next four scoring plays came from the Stags and the visiting team held a double figure advantage throughout majority of the remainder. With under a minute to play CLU would get back within eight on a Sawyer Weddle second chance bucket, but four more successful attempts from the charity stripe by CMS all but sealed the win, handing CLU their second loss in as many outings.
While the Kingsmen did a good job of preventing SCIAC scoring leader Tyler Gaffaney from shooting many three's where he most excels, he was able to drive to the basket on numerous occasions and finished the opening 20 minutes with 12 points, adding 14 in the second half to share the game-high with Powdrill at 26 apiece.
CLU was tougher on the glass, grabbing eight more rebounds (36-28) than CMS with 11 on the offensive end of the court. Powdrill, who recorded a double-double, led all players with 10 boards. Lynott pulled down seven and Connor McGuire finished with six, including four offensive.
Smith added 24 points for Cal Lutheran while five other players scored. Additionally, Smith handed out three of the nine assists with Lynott handing out two and McGuire, Powdrill, Curtis Opsahl and Dan Wade adding one apiece.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (12-3, 5-1 SCIAC) was led by Gaffaney's 26 points with Scott Lynds and Shelby Lane chipping in with 12 and 10, respectively. Earley had a game-high four assists and Jeck Ely notched three steals. Gaffaney and Lane each came down with seven rebounds.
Cal Lutheran (10-4, 4-2) will be off for a week before returning to action on Tuesday, Jan. 27 when the Kingsmen travel to Whittier to face off with the Poets at 7:30 p.m. in the Graham Athletics Center.
Box Score: CMS 73, CLU 65
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