POMONA, Calif. – With its postseason hopes hanging in the balance, the Cal Lutheran men's basketball team delivered one of its most complete performances of the season Wednesday night, defeating Pomona-Pitzer 99-71 inside Voelkel Gymnasium.

The Kingsmen left no doubt, avenging a tough home loss to the Sagehens last month. Cal Lutheran shot a blistering 56.7 percent from the field and knocked down 17 three-pointers in a balanced effort that featured five players in double figures, improving to 13-11 overall and 8-7 in SCIAC play. The 28-point margin marked the team's largest win of the season and keeps CLU firmly in the hunt heading into Saturday's regular-season finale.

Cal Lutheran dictated the pace from the opening tip. A Ryder Mjoen tip-in followed by a three-pointer ignited an early rhythm, and the Kingsmen went on to bury nine more first-half threes to seize control. CLU built a 51-41 lead at the break after shooting nearly 70 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

The surge continued out of halftime as back-to-back threes from Matthew Verkamp pushed the lead to double digits for good. Jaden Young later drilled a three-pointer with just over seven minutes remaining to stretch the advantage to 30, then followed with a pair of free throws to make it 32, allowing CLU to cruise to the finish.

Young led the way with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Verkamp added 15 points, including four makes from beyond the arc. Mjoen matched him with 15 points of his own on an efficient 6-of-8 clip.

The Kingsmen's depth proved decisive once again, pouring in 49 bench points, highlighted by 12 apiece from Josh DeVore and Cody Shen. PJ Jourdain chipped in eight points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting performance, including 2-of-2 from three, and Makaio Morphy added eight more with a pair of triples.

CLU also dominated the hustle categories, outscoring the Sagehens 21-8 in second-chance points and holding them to just 1-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc in the second half.

Now, it all comes down to Saturday.

The Kingsmen return home for Senior Day against Occidental in what could be a must-win contest. Before the 2 p.m. tipoff, Cal Lu will honor seniors Andrew Pipersburgh, Camden Hyde, Luke Varechok and Ze'ev Remer for their contributions to the program.

Cal Lutheran controls its destiny with a victory, but its postseason hopes also hinge on the outcome of Whittier's 5 p.m. matchup against Redlands. A CLU win combined with a Whittier loss would secure a playoff berth outright, and the Kingsmen would still hold the tiebreaker advantage if it came down to it, but Saturday leaves little room for error.