THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Cal Lutheran men's basketball team was only down six points at halftime, but a big second allowed the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens to take down the Kingsmen, 76-51, Monday night.
Cal Lutheran kept pace with one of the top teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) as the Kingsmen only trailed 34-28 at the half. However, the Sagehens were able to catch fire in the second half as they outscored CLU 42-23. The Kingsmen fell to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in conference play. PP is now 12-1 and 4-0.
Senior Austin Cole led Cal Lutheran with 21 points. He made all three of his three-pointers. Cole has scored double-figures in eight straight games.
Senior Kyle Ferreira was next with 15 points. He was 6-of-10 from the field. He added three rebounds and two assists. He has scored 15-plus points in 10 of the 11 games this year.
Sophomore Cole Thomas came off the bench and scored five points, all coming from the free throw line. Junior Palmer Chaplin led the offense with four assists.
Pomona-Pitzer outshot Cal Lutheran and had a percentage of 50. The Kingsmen shot 33.3-percent. The difference maker was turnovers as the Sagehens forced the Kingsmen into 17.
The Sagehens got out in the lead early, but the Kingsmen hung tough and kept the game close. With six minutes left in the first half, PP only led 24-19. CLU kept the deficit to single-digits at the half. Cole to cut the lead to six, 34-28, as he hit a three with 58 seconds left.
The Sagehens opened the second half on 16-4 run and were quickly up 50-34. PP continued to push the lead and were up by 21, 60-39, with 9:28 left in the game. The Sagehens held the lead the rest of the game and defeated the Kingsmen 76-51.
Cal Lutheran only gets one day off before they are back in action. The Kingsmen host the Redlands Bulldogs on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Box Score: PP 76, CLU 51
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
