LA VERNE, Calif. — No. 21 Cal Lutheran men's basketball won their seventh straight game as they defeated La Verne 72-69 on Wednesday night. 

The Kingsmen improved to 4-1 in SCIAC play and are 11-3 overall. "Road wins are great," Head Coach Russell White said. "Let's get ready for Saturday."

Devon Lewis led the way with 16 points, Tommy Griffitts was next with 15 and Ze'ev Remer had 12. It was a rough shooting night from three as the Kingsmen were 1-12 but they overcame their three-point struggles with 19-27 from the free throw line and were 45.6 percent from the field. 

Griffitts led the Kingsmen on the glass with seven rebounds and added three blocks, Desi Burrage dished out a team-high four assists, and Stephen Davis and Burrage had two steals each. 

The Kingsmen controlled the game by winning the big categories 15-4 in points off turnovers, 17-9 in second-chance points, and 26-18 in bench points. 

The Kingsmen jumped out to the early lead in the first half and were up 13-3 just over five minutes in. The lead continued to be double-digits for most of the half until La Verne cut it to 40-33 at the break. La Verne continued to climb back into the game and made It 42-40 with 18:15 to go. Four minutes later, the Leopards came all the way back and tied the score at 48. The Kingsmen were ready and responded with a run to go up 65-54 with 5:30 left. The Kingsmen coasted the rest of the way and took the game. 

The Kingsmen continue their season on Saturday. They are at Pomona-Pitzer with tipoff set for 2 p.m.