THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — California Lutheran University men's basketball handed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps its first conference loss of the season with a 78-65 statement win inside Gilbert Arena on Wednesday night.
The Kingsmen improved to 9-2 overall and 2-1 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play, while holding the Stags to just their third-lowest point total of the season. Sitting at the top of the conference, CMS was knocked down, and are now 10-2 overall and 4-1 in conference.
Mason Johnson scored 20-plus points for the eighth time this year, and hit the 25-point mark for the fifth time. He was 9-18 from the field, hitting four three-pointers, to lead the Purple and Gold with 25 points. He added six assists and his four three-pointers were the most in a game this season.
Jacob Alonzo was all over the court, putting up numbers in every statistical category. He scored 14 points, and just narrowly missed a double-double with nine assists. He recorded six rebounds, six steals, and one block, showing he can do anything and everything. It is the third time Alonzo has had six-plus steals and the 11th time he has had five-plus assists this year. He has had nine assists twice and 10 assists once.
Tommy Griffitts came off the bench and scored a career-high 20 points and has scored double-digits in six games. He was 7-11 from the field and made all six of his free throws. He led the Kingsmen with seven rebounds.
The Kingsmen weathered the storm to start the game as CMS jumped out to a 13-6 lead just four minutes into the game. Cal Lutheran chipped away at the lead, eventually tying it up at 15 with 13:42 left. With the scored tied at 24, with 5:18 left in the half, the Kingsmen used a 12-6 run and were up 36-30 at the break.
Cal Lutheran came up with big play after big play as the Stags tried to get back into the game. With the Kingsmen up by six, Alonzo drilled a three-pointer, with the assist from Johnson, and the score was 59-68 with 4:55 left to play.
A few plays later, Johnson came up clutch. With a ball knocked free from his hands, and up in the air, Johnson soared over the competition to snag the loose ball, hitting a three-pointer of his own, and pushing the lead to 73-62 with 3:16 left.
If that wasn't the finishing touch, it came a little bit later. Alonzo drove to the hoop with the shot clock winding down. He found a wide-open Desi Burrage, who made the Stags pay, giving the Kingsmen a 76-63 lead with 1:47 left.
Cal Lutheran forced CMS into 17 turnovers, while only committing nine of their own. The Purple and Gold also got huge points from the bench, outscoring the Stags' 42-9.
The Kingsmen look to make it two conference wins in a row as they travel to Redlands on Saturday for a game at 2 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 78, CMS 65
CLU Instagram: @clusports
Sport IG: @cluhoops
CLU Twitter: @CLUSports
Sport Twitter: @CLUmBasketball
CLU Facebook: @clusports
Hashtags: #clusports #ownthethrone #goregals #gokingsmen #theSCIAC #ncaad3
Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
July 1, 2022
Milligan Named Men’s Basketball Associate Head Coach
March 16, 2022
Johnson Selected D3hoops.com Second Team All-Region
February 24, 2022
Kingsmen Advance to Semis, Face Pomona-Pitzer
February 22, 2022
Kingsmen Host Beavers to Open SCIAC Tournament
February 19, 2022
Kingsmen End Regular Season On 10-Point Win
February 17, 2022
Stags Even Season Series with Kingsmen
February 12, 2022
Kingsmen Honors Seniors Before Redlands
February 10, 2022
Kingsmen Defense Forces Beavers into 24 Turnovers in 88-64 Win
February 8, 2022
Kingsmen Hit Century Mark, Dominate Leopards
February 5, 2022
Kingsmen Unable To Outlast Sagehens; Alonzo Puts Up 26 Points
February 3, 2022
Kingsmen Push Win Streak to Four; Hold On Against Occidental
January 27, 2022
Kingsmen Score 50 in Second Half, Handle Leopards at Home
January 26, 2022
Cal Lutheran Honoring First Men’s Basketball Team on Saturday
January 19, 2022
Kingsmen Deliver Double-Digit Win; Johnson Scores 21 Points
January 18, 2022
Sagehens Outlast Kingsmen
January 15, 2022
Kingsmen Unable To Hold Onto Lead; Silenced By Bulldogs
January 13, 2022
Kingsmen Hand Stags First SCIAC Loss; Defeat CMS 78-65
December 28, 2021
Second Half Comeback Falls Short; Lewis Scores Career-High 18
December 22, 2021
New Schedule for Kingsmen Classic; Benedictine (Ill.) Out
December 20, 2021
Johnson Names SCIAC Men’s Basketball Offensive Athlete of the Week
December 17, 2021
Johnson Buries 28 Points; Alonzo Records A Double Double
December 4, 2021
Panthers Use Second-Half Run to Get Past Kingsmen
December 2, 2021
Kingsmen Stay Undefeated, Open Conference Play With Win
November 30, 2021
Kingsmen Receiving Votes in First D3hoops.com Poll
November 27, 2021
Kingsmen Move to 6-0; Take Down UC Santa Cruz 80-62
November 21, 2021
Kingsmen Score 61 First-Half Points, Cruise to 5-0 in Home Opener
November 14, 2021
Kingsmen Remain Undefeated After 3 Games In Illinois
November 12, 2021
Kingsmen Improve to 2-0 with Win Over Illinois Tech
November 10, 2021
Kingsmen Show Depth and Grit with 80-79 Win to Open Season
October 11, 2021
Kingsmen Basketball Ready to Tip-Off 2021-22 Season