EAGLE ROCK, Calif. – The 2025-26 season came to a close for Cal Lutheran men's basketball on Wednesday night as the Kingsmen dropped an 88-84 decision to Occidental in the first round of the SCIAC Tournament inside Rush Gymnasium.

In a game that closely resembled Saturday's regular-season finale, Oxy's shot-making once again proved to be the difference. The Tigers found their rhythm early, converting tough looks from across the floor to build a lead the Kingsmen spent much of the night chasing.

Oxy opened on a 12-5 run and pushed its advantage to 28-14 midway through the first half as nearly every clean look seemed to fall. The Tigers shot 54.8 percent over the opening 20 minutes and hit 4-of-8 from beyond the arc to carry a 44-35 lead into halftime.

Cal Lu continued to fight, tightening up defensively and finding better flow on the offensive end in the second half. A pair of transition dunks from Camden Hyde injected life into the Purple & Gold, and back-to-back three-pointers from Ryder Mjoen trimmed the deficit to 11 with just over 12 minutes to play.

Later, a three from Makaio Morphy and consecutive baskets from Cody Shen cut the margin to single digits. PJ Jourdain's fastbreak triple with under three minutes remaining brought the Kingsmen within six at 76-70, their closest since the opening minutes.

Each time Cal Lutheran threatened, however, Oxy answered. Second-chance opportunities, timely perimeter shots, and steady free-throw shooting allowed the Tigers to maintain control down the stretch. In the closing seconds, Jaden Young knocked down back-to-back threes to make it a one-possession game, but Oxy sealed the win at the line.

The Kingsmen shot 44.3 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three-point range but were unable to overcome the early deficit. Oxy finished at 46.2 percent overall and 42.9 percent from deep.

Mjoen paced Cal Lutheran with 17 points, hitting three triples and going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. Young added 15 points, while Shen provided 12 off the bench. Ze'ev Remer contributed 11 points and five assists, and Matthew Verkamp chipped in 10.

Cal Lu held a 21-8 edge in fastbreak points and matched the Tigers with 24 bench points, but the early hole ultimately proved too much to erase.

With the loss, the Kingsmen conclude the 2025-26 campaign at 13-13 overall.

Wednesday's contest also marked the final appearance in a Kingsmen uniform for seniors Andrew Pipersburgh, Luke Varechok, Hyde, and Remer. The group helped lead Cal Lutheran to multiple conference tournament appearances, highlighted by last season's regular-season title and NCAA Tournament berth. Their leadership anchored a retooled roster through an up-and-down year and kept the Kingsmen in postseason contention until the final buzzer.