Thousand Oaks, Calif. – It was a tight 40-minute battle between the Kingsmen and the Loras College Duhawks as the Purple and Gold prevailed and finished with a 90-82 win.
Three Kingsmen scored in the double digits tonight. Mason Johnson was the leading scorer and put up 28 points on his own. Johnson collected 16 points in the paint, six points from the three-point line, and six more during free throws. He tacked on two blocks, two assists, and six rebounds.
Behind him was Jacob Alonzo who recorded a double double. He collected 19 points and 10 assists in his 35 minutes of play. Alonzo tallied four points in the paint, nine points from the three-point line, and an additional six from free throws. He added two steals and six rebounds on top of that.
Johnson and Alonzo were connecting on the court tonight and established that in the first half when Alonzo assisted Johnson in back to back three pointers.
Brooks Mallory was the third Kingsmen in double digits. Mallory had 12 points, one steal, one assist, and one rebound.
The first half ended with the Purple and Gold on top 44-43. The second half stayed just as close as the first until the Kingsmen started to pull away at the end.
The Kingsmen had a high press running towards the end of the second half that the Duhawks were struggling to get out of. With seven minutes left in the game the Kingsmen were up by eight. The Duhawks kept the game within reach but the Purple and Gold couldn't be stopped on the offensive front.
The Duhawks got themselves into foul trouble and the Kingsmen were draining their one and one free throw opportunities. With just over two minutes left the Purple and Gold had a nine-point lead. Loras College stayed in the game until the very last second and fought back to cut the lead down to five. Ultimately, they were unable to take the lead from the Kingsmen.
Seven other Kingsmen put up points tonight. Tommy Griffitts led the Kingsmen in rebounds. Griffitts collected seven rebounds, six points, and one block.
Logan McCullough went two for two tonight, one from the paint and one on the three-point line. He added in another assist and one block.
Dallas Johnson collected four points and two assists, Desi Burrage had five points, three assists, and two steals, and Devon Lewis had six points and one assist.
To finish up the scoring Justin Stanziano had two points, three assists, and two blocks and Ryan Grande had three points and three rebounds.
The Kingsmen return to Gilbert on December 28th to host the Kingsmen Classic basketball tournament.
Box Score: CLU 90, LC 82
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Release by Cate Boller, Assistant Sports Information Director
