THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – California Lutheran's Kyle Ferreira scored a game-high 19 points, but the Kingsmen couldn't overcome Hamline as the Pipers knocked off CLU 66-61 Thursday night inside Gilbert Arena.
Ferreira hit four three-pointers as he led the Kingsmen (2-5) in points. He added six rebounds and one steal.
Blake Miles added 13 points. He filled the stat line with seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks. Austin Cole added 10 points and had a team-high eight rebounds. KJ Moffett scored seven points and had four rebounds. Michael Wadsworth added six points and three rebounds off the bench.
The game was pretty even all the way around and there were eight ties and seven lead changes.
Hamline jumped out to a big lead to start the game and was up 9-2. After a Kingsmen timeout, the Violet and Gold came out firing and cut the lead down to one, 11-10. With CLU down 14-13, Ferreira put the Kingsmen up 16-14 as he made a three. Over the final 12 minutes of the first half, neither team would lead by more than six. Cole made the final shot of the first half and CLU had the lead at halftime by four, 34-30.
The lead would continue to change in the second half as the Pipers went up 40-39. Every time Hamline would score, the Kingsmen would answer. With the score tied at 44, Hamline went on a 7-2 run and took a 51-46 lead. The Pipers had their biggest lead of the second half as they were up 57-49. Tough defense and good offensive possessions got the Kingsmen back in the game as they tied the score at 57. The game would be tied at 59 and then 61 before Hamline scored the final five points and won the game 66-61.
Four Hamline (4-5) players scored in double-digits led by Zach Smith who put up 16. Kalu Abosi had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Three players had two steals.
Cal Lutheran has a day off before the Kingsmen take on No. 5 Williams Ephs Saturday at 4 p.m. inside Gilbert Arena.
Box Score: HU 66, CLU 61
CLU Instagram: http://instagram.com/clusports#
Sport IG: https://www.instagram.com/kingsmen_basketball/
CLU Twitter: https://twitter.com/clusports
Sport Twitter: https://twitter.com/CLUmBasketball
CLU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports
Hashtags: #clusports #ownthethrone #goregals #gokingsmen #theSCIAC #ncaad3
Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director