THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The California Lutheran University men's basketball team played hard, but came up short and lost to Vanguard University, 80-73, Saturday night in Gilbert Arena.
Blake Miles scored a career-high 25 points as he shot 11-of-13 from the field and 1-1 from three-point territory. Kyle Ferreira led the team with nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
The Violet and Gold started off the game with great ball movement resulting in scores on the first three possessions all from different scorers. Vanguard relied on a couple of offensive misses from the Kingsmen and turned them into a lead at 10-8. A vicious dunk from Connor Griffin put the Lions ahead by four.
KJ Moffett got his hands on a steal, and Miles drained a jump shot to capitalize. However, Shacquille Dawkins answered back with a quick three-point shot to widen the gap. Vanguard continued to draw fouls in a physical match up that saw 11 fouls between the two teams in 12 minutes.
Ferreira nailed a three-point shot bringing the Kingsmen back within seven points, however Vanguard's Brandon Hood answered back with one of his own.
The Kingsmen continued to draw fouls, however they struggled at the line making only 5-12 of their free throws in the first 17 minutes. The teams combined for 18 fouls in the first half.
Vanguard led 43-29 at halftime. Dawkins led the Lions with 11 points and three rebounds. Miles, who shot 80% from the field, led CLU offensively. Moffett, Connor Cole and Austin Cole add five points apiece.
Miles continued his hot streak with a field goal on CLU's first possession. Despite CLU finding the net consistently, Vanguard maintained their 14-point lead in the first five minutes of the second half.
Palmer Chaplin brought down a defensive rebound then went baseline-to-baseline, ultimately drawing a foul and making both free throws. He drained a three-point shot on his next possession. After getting a quick defensive stop, Jerry Lawson made a layup bringing the score to 45-56.
Vanguard continued to dominate the boards on both ends of the court, which severely limited the Kingmen's opportunities at second chance points.
Miles made his first three-point attempt of the night sparking an 8-0 run for the Kingsmen. CLU forced two turnovers in a row. The first led to a layup from Michael Wadsworth, and the second was another layup for Miles.
A. Cole got a steal, then ran the length of the floor to find Miles under the basket for two, which brought CLU within nine points. On the ensuing possession, A. Cole found Chaplin for a three-pointer to get within seven points of the Lions. CLU ultimately got the lead down to six, but that was the closest the game would be. The Kingsmen's comeback fell short resulting in an 80-73 loss to the Lions.
The Kingsmen stay at home for their next games as they kick off the Cal Lutheran Tournament against Hamline inside Gilbert Arena at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 28.
Box Score: VU 80, CLU 73
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director / Makenna Pellerin (Sports Information Intern)