PASADENA, Calif. — Cal Lutheran's Austin Cole scored a game-high 33 points and teammate Michael Wadsworth added a career-high 18 as the Kingsmen held off the Caltech Beavers, 108-103, in overtime Wednesday night in Braun Athletic Center.
CLU has won back-to-back Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) games and is now 5-9 overall and 3-4 in conference play. The Kingsmen currently have the fifth-best conference record in the SCIAC. Top-four teams play in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament.
Cole had his second-highest scoring output of the season as he led the Kingsmen with 33. He scored 36 against UC Santa Cruz during the first game of the year. He hit four three-pointers and went 11-for-14 from the free throw line. He filled the stat sheet with six assists, four steals and three rebounds.
Wadsworth came off the bench and was perfect from the field and the free throw line as he had his best scoring game of the season. He made five field goals, including one three-pointer, and went 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. He chipped in five assists and four rebounds.
KJ Moffett continue his hot shooting and added 20 points. He tallied five rebounds, one steal and one block that helped seal the win. Kyle Ferreira shot 50-percent from the field and was the third-leading scorer for the Kingsmen with 19. Palmer Chaplin made if five Kingsmen in double-digits as he chipped in with 10. He also tallied five rebounds and four assists.
As a team, the Kingsmen tied their season-high in assists. They moved the ball around very well and tallied 22. They continued that same feat in steals and tied their season-high with 10. Cal Lutheran shot 54.4-percent in the win.
The teams were pretty even to start the game, but then the Kingsmen started to pull away. With the scored tied at 13, Cal Lutheran went on a 31-7 run, capped off by a Moffett dunk. The run stretched over seven and a half minutes and CLU was up 43-20 with 5:48 left in the half. CLU continued its hot shooting throughout the rest of the half and were up 56-30 at halftime.
To start the second half, Moffett made two free throws and CLU had its biggest lead of the game at 28. With the Violet and Gold up 74-50 with 12:18 left in the game, the Beavers went on a run of their own. A 10-2 stretch got Caltech back into the game with 10 minutes to play. The Beavers continued to grind and got it down to a 10-point game with 4:24 left. CIT kept at it, and it was a one possession game with a minute left. With the Kingsmen up 93-90, the Beavers hit a three-pointer with one second left to force overtime.
The Beavers took their first lead since the opening minutes of the game and led 97-95 with 3:34 left in OT. After a few fouls and made free throws by both teams, the score was tied at 99 with 1:18 left. With 24 seconds left and CLU down one, Cole went to the free throw line with a chance to take the lead. He made both free throws to take the lead. On the defensive end, Moffett showed great defense and had a game-winning block with nine seconds left. The Kingsmen made their final free throws and won the game 108-103.
CLU continues the season on the road as the Kingsmen travel to La Verne, Calif., to take on the La Verne Leopards Saturday at 2 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 108, CIT 103 (OT)
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
