THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Cal Lutheran men's basketball team was back on the court for the first time in over a year. It was an instant classic, and went to overtime, but the Redlands Bulldogs took the exhibition 98-97 in Gilbert Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore center Miles Houston led the Kingmen with 22 points and freshman Tommy Griffitts was just behind him, putting up 18 in his debut. Four Kingsmen scored in double-digts as Devon Lewis recorded 12 and Riley O'Connor added 11, both in first collegiate apperances.
Dallas Johnson and Houston led the way on the boards, both grabbing seven rebounds, including two offensive rebounds each. The offense moved the ball around well as the Kingsmen had 20 assists to the Builldogs 10. Charlie Lee and Logan McCullough both had a team-high four.
The Kingsmen got off to a quick start with a 5-0 lead but the Redland Bulldogs tied it up within the first few minutes. Then it was the Bulldogs' turn as they went up 38-28. The Kingsmen wwere right there to answer, finishing the half on an 8-0 run, and were only down 39-36 at the break.
The Bulldogs started the second half strong, taking a double digit lead within the first few minutes. Cal Lutheran continued to break the Bulldogs' full-court press and were able to stay present in the offensive game. The Kingsmen continued to attack and took the lead with a little over 14 minutes left in the game.
The Kingsmen stayed relentless and took a 65-58, but Redlands would fire bakc. The Bulldogs full-court press helped them suppress the Kingsmen offense, allowing them back into the game with one minute left. Redlands then made a three-pointer to tie up the game 84-84 with 7 seconds to go.
The three sent the game into overtime where the Kingsmen and Bulldogs remained neck and neck. With just over 3 minutes left they were still tied at 88-88.
The sharp free throw shooters on the Bulldogs gave them an advantage 92-88 lead, forcing the Kingsmen to play catch up.
Sure enough the Kinsgmen fought back and held a one-point lead with 36 second left in overtime. After a harsh battle in the last moments of the game, the Bulldogs pulled through with a free throw to put them ahead of the Kingsmen with a final score of 98-97.
Box Score: UR 98, CLU 97
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director; Cate Boller, Sports Information Assistant
