THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran men's basketball is the 2023-24 SCIAC Regular Season Champion! 

Tommy Griffitts, Devon Lewis, and Brock Susko combined for 60 points as the nationally ranked No. 8 Kingsmen also clinched the No. 1 spot in the SCIAC Tournament with an 89-71 win over Whittier on Wednesday evening. 
 
The Kingsmen (21-3, 14-1 SCIAC) extended their record-breaking win streak with their 17th straight victory and won the SCIAC Championship for the first time since the 2000-2001 season. 

Griffitts was a perfect 11-11 from the field for a team-high 22 points and added nine rebounds. Lewis and Susko both had 19 points with Susko knocking down five three-pointers. Stephen Davis set a new career-high in assists with seven and added three steals. 

The Kingsmen piled it on the Poets (6-17, 3-11 SCIAC) offensively all 40 minutes of the game but did their best work in the second half as they hit 66.7% of their shots en route to a 54.8% shooting night overall. 

The opening minutes of the game were closely contested, but a 12-0 run with five different Kingsmen scorers created separation, making it 30-17 at the 9:27 mark of the first half. 

Susko had 11 points and Davis had six of his seven assists in the first half, leading the Kingsmen to a 43-33 lead going into the second half. 

After the break, Griffitts got into a groove, finding success in the low post early in the second half. He scored 10 of the Kingsmen's first 14 points of the half. 

The Poets hit a three to cut the deficit to single digits, but Susko answered back the next possession with a three-pointer to make it 60-48 with 11:42 remaining in the game. The Kingsmen never led by less than 10 the rest of the way and cruised to the final buzzer. 

The Kingsmen have one game remaining before playoffs; they are at home for Senior Day against Pomona-Pitzer, where they look to finish the season undefeated at Gilbert Arena. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17.