MARIETTA, Ohio – Cal Lutheran men's basketball (2-1, 0-0 SCIAC) put together a tough performance in Saturday night's Marietta Shrine Tournament title game, ultimately falling short in a tightly contested 83-82 finish to the host-school Marietta (4-0, 0-0 OAC). 

Aidan Crawford sparked Cal Lutheran out of the gate with a quick layup and a three-pointer, while Jayden Young buried a deep three to make it a one-possession game. As the pace intensified, the Kingsmen continued to answer Marietta's early surge. Midway through the half, the Kingsmen pieced together a brief 8-2 run behind back-to-back layups from Crawford and driving finishes from Cade Collins and Camden Hyde, keeping the game within reach. 

A series of baskets from Matthew Verkamp and Ryder Mjoen helped close the gap further, and in the final minute of the half, Young hit two free throws to send Cal Lutheran into the break trailing 46-39.

Cal Lutheran opened the second half with urgency, putting together a 10-2 run in hopes of shifting the game's momentum. Crawford sparked the push with a driving layup before Josh DeVore took over inside, scoring three consecutive baskets off feeds from Mjoen and Ze'ev Remer.

Cal Lutheran kept the pressure on, with DeVore and Mjoen combining for a 6-0 stretch before Crawford and Hyde scored at the rim and Young buried a three-pointer, bringing CLU within four. 

Cal Lutheran made its strongest push in the closing minutes. With just over four minutes remaining, Mjoen knocked down a clutch three to make it a two-point game. Young added another strong finish, and with under a minute remaining, Mjoen's jumper made it 80-83.

The Kingsmen nearly completed the comeback. Crawford drilled a contested jumper with one second remaining to make it 83-82, capping a strong second-half push in which Cal Lutheran outscored Marietta and consistently responded to every run. The final possession, however, wasn't enough to flip the result.

Crawford led the Kingsmen with a standout 22-point performance and a team-high six rebounds, while Young added 14 points. Cal Lutheran finished the night shooting an efficient 51.6% from the floor and outpaced Marietta 33-29 in made field goals. The Kingsmen also generated eight three-pointers and went 8/12 at the line, but Marietta's advantage at the free throw line (16/22) proved to be the difference in a tightly contested 83-82 finish.

Crawford and Young were named to the Marietta Shrine All-Tournament Team for the efforts over the past couple of days. Cal Lutheran will return home to host Whitman on Friday evening at 6pm.