THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Like a shot clock about to expire, Arik Smith senses the urgency as his college career winds down.
The Cal Lutheran senior guard is trying to make the most of his final weeks in a CLU uniform.
Smith scored a career-high 33 points last week in an overtime victory Whittier and added 18 points as CLU upset No. 15-ranked and previously-undefeated Chapman a few nights later.
"It's kind of scary there are only a couple of games left. The reality is hitting me that every game is closer to my last game," Smith said. "I think that is part of the high scoring. I just don't want to have any regrets. I don't want to think I should have played harder or should have done more."
The 6-foot-1 Smith is averaging a team-leading 18.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for the Kingsmen.
CLU (13-4, 7-2) has won three straight games to vault back into the thick of a topsy-turvy SCIAC race this season.
The Kingsmen are in a three-way tie for first place with Chapman (16-2, 7-2) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (14-4, 7-2).
CLU hosts Pomona-Pitzer (6-12, 4-5) on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at Gilbert Arena. Pomona-Pitzer added to Chapman's misery last week by beating the Panthers in double-overtime last Saturday night.
"The way things have gone we are right back in the race," Smith said. "I think it's still an attainable goal for us to win SCIAC. It's definitely my goal. I want to go out on top for my senior year."
Smith transferred to CLU from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls before his junior season.
The Bakersfield native has enjoyed the family-like atmosphere on CLU's campus.
"Every time I am going down the hallway, I talk to every coach from every team," he said. "The soccer coach, the volleyball coach, the AD - every time I come down everyone says something nice. Everyone supports each other."
Knowing he would play a major role on offense again this season, Smith worked in the summer to improve his game.
"It's hard to find a balance sometimes of when my team needs me to be aggressive and attack to get my shot or when I need to get guys the ball," Smith said. "There are some games where you have to take over and be the player you know you can be and get the win because we can't afford to drop any more games."
Smith's favorite NBA players are former Philadelphia 76ers star guard Allen Iverson and current Oklahoma Thunder star guard Russell Westbrook.
"My dorm has three Allen Iverson posters hanging on the wall," Smith said. "He was my favorite player growing up and right now it's Russell Westbrook. I just love their energy and passion. I know some people criticize them for having bad attitudes, but I like to look beyond that because they just play hard every game."
Smith is hoping to stretch his last season at CLU as long as possible and lead the Kingsmen to a few postseason tournament appearances. As for his future beyond CLU, Smith is keeping his options open.
He is a business administration major with an emphasis on marketing and wants to eventually work in the entertainment industry.
"I was offered an internship at Allied Integrated Marketing, but after talking to the coaches they told me I had an opportunity to play professionally overseas," Smith said. "That is kind of the No. 1 goal I want to attempt. I want to take basketball as far as I can, and if that doesn't work out I have my degree to fall back on."
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