(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Jan. 15, 2023) A packed and raucous crowd at Gilbert Arena saw No. 14 Cal Lutheran men's basketball defeat Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 62-56 to take over the top spot in the conference standings on Wednesday night.

It was a stellar sequel to the two teams' first matchup back in December and this game meant so much more.  Both teams came in riding 10-game win streaks, with the Kingsmen improving to 15-3, 8-1 in SCIAC while dropping the Stags to 13-5 and 7-2. 
 
The Kingsmen, who avenged their loss to the Stags in their first matchup of the season 60-55 in December, grabbed the first-place position and defended home court improving to 10-0 inside Gilbert Arena. 

Tommy Griffitts led the way with 14 points and eight rebounds, a game-high in both categories. Devon Lewis and Patrick Renane both added 11 points. 
 
The Stags stunned the home crowd early by jumping out to a 15-1 lead after just five minutes of play, but the Kingsmen answered back with an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to five points 22-17. With time ticking down before halftime, Griffitts knocked down a tough turnaround shot at the buzzer to make it 26-23 Stags and give the Kingsmen momentum heading into the second half. 
 
Lewis hit a three-pointer for the first points of the second half and Stephen Davis followed it up with a layup to give the Kingsmen their first lead of the night 28-26. 

But with every lead-changing shot, the Stags answered back. Over 14 minutes, the Kingsmen would retake the lead four more times with the Stags regaining it each time until the two-minute mark of the game. 

Down 56-52 with two minutes to go, Lewis drilled a fastbreak three-pointer and scored a layup on back-to-back possessions to give the Kingsmen a 57-56 lead. His five points would start a 10-0 Kingsmen run to ice the game.

With defense chants filling Gilbert Arena, Desi Burrage made a diving steal leading to a Griffitts slam dunk on the other end, sending the crowd into a frenzy. 

The Kingsmen got a stop and went 3-4 at the free-throw line in the last 13 seconds to put the game away. 

With the win, the Kingsmen extended their winning streak to 11 games and remained undefeated at home. They face Chapman (11-7, 5-4 SCIAC) on the road on Saturday at 2 p.m.