WHITTIER, Calif. — Cal Lutheran men's basketball had a 12 point lead with 10:25 left in the game, but a furious rally from Whittier shocked the Kingsmen as the Poets scored the final six points and won 70-67 on Saturday afternoon.
Lachlan Hannemann and Cole Thomas both had career scoring nights, tallying 17 points each, as the Kingsmen dropped to 1-7 overall and 0-2 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play.
Hanneman scored 14 of his points in the first half as he shot 4-of-5 from three-point range. Thomas supplied the most scoring in the second half as he made all three baskets and was 6-of-8 from the free throw line for a total of 12 points.
Palmer Chaplin came up just shy of a triple-double as he scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out eight assists. He filled the stat line as he also recorded two steals.
Miles Houston led the Purple and Gold on the glass, and recorded his first game of double-digit rebounds, as he pulled down 10. His previous high was seven. Thomas also made his presence known around the boards as he tallied eight.
Three more Kingsmen supplied the scoring as Carlton Brown had seven, Houston was next with six and Jarrett Powers added five more.
Cal Lutheran recorded its third-highest shooting percentage of the season (44.0), its second top mark from three-point range (40.9) and tied for its second most free throws made in a game (14).
The Kingsmen's downfall came on turnovers as they committed 25 which the Poets scored 28 points off of. The biggest difference in the game came to the bench as Whittier outscored Cal Lutheran 41-5.
CLU jumped out held the lead early in the first half as Powers converted on a three-pointer which gave the Kingsmen a 15-8 lead. Cal Lutheran continued to extend the lead as Thomas put the Kingsmen up 20-10 after a layup. The Purple and Gold held the lead for most of the first half as Whittier took its first lead, 29-28, with 5:26 left. CLU took back the lead before the end of the half and was up 37-35 at the break.
The Kingsmen opened up the lead in the second half and went up by double-digits multiple times. The largest lead for the Kingsmen came with 10:25 left as Palmer made a layup putting his team up 56-44. The Poets slowly cut into the lead down the stretch and made it a two-point game, 66-64, with 3:13 left.
Cal Lutheran got one more point the rest of the way, a free throw by Thomas, as the Kingsmen committed five turnovers over the next three minutes. The Poets took the late lead at 70-67 with 56 seconds left, and the Kingsmen had their shot to tie. After empty trips for both teams, CLU had one final chance with two seconds left, but Chaplin's three with two seconds left was no good.
The Kingsmen have two weeks off before their next game at home. Cal Lutheran is back in action on Saturday, December 28, and start their own CLU Holiday Tournament with Rosemont at 5 p.m.
Box Score: WC 70, CLU 67
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
