WHITTIER, Calif. — The California Lutheran men's basketball had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but a three-pointer by the Kingsmen was no good, and the Whittier College Poets escaped with a 101-98 win Wednesday night in Graham Athletic Center.
Austin Cole led the Kingsmen (6-12, 4-7 SCIAC) as he scored a game-high 28 points. He hit four three-pointers and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He added seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Kyle Ferreira recorded his fourth career double-double, all of which have come this season. He was the second-leading scorer of the game and out up 25 points on 10-of-16 shots. He added 10 rebounds for the double-double. He continued you fill the stat sheet as dished out five assists and tallied three steals.
Two more Kingsmen scored in double-digits as Palmer Chaplin and Lukas Swidler put up 11 and 10 points, respectively. Freshman Cole Thomas played a season-high 25 minutes and scored a career-high eight points.
The first few baskets went back and forth before Cole hit a two-pointer to put the Kingsmen up 15-7. The Poets would fire back and tied the game at 15. CLU answered with another run, as they scored 10 straight points, and had a 25-15 lead. Whittier chipped away at the lead again and took a 32-31 lead with 5:10 left in the half. Whittier ended the half on another run and had a 52-42 lead at the half.
It took the Kingsmen the first 10 minutes of the second half to cut down the deficit, but sure enough, CLU was back in the game. With 8:12 left, Michael Wadsworth made a layup to put Cal Lutheran up 79-78. The score continued to be close over the next few minutes. With 1:19 left, Chaplin nailed a three to tie the game at 95. Whittier took the lead over the next minute and were up three with 11 seconds left. The Kingsmen had a shot at the buzzer, but the attempt was no good and Whitter held on to win 101-98.
The Kingsmen continue the season on the road and travel to Orange, Calif., to take on Chapman University Saturday at 2 p.m.
Box Score: WC 101, CLU 98
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director