LOS ANGELES — The California Lutheran University men's basketball team pushed its win streak to four as the Kingsmen went on the road and took down Occidental 83-81 Wednesday night.
With the win, the Purple and Gold are now 13-4 overall. The top four teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) are separated by just three games. The top team is 8-2 with the Kingsmen in the four-spot at 6-3.
Five Kingsmen scored in double-figures as the team saw points come from all over the court. Mason Johnson had a team-high 15 points, Charlie Lee was next with 14, Jacob Alonzo recorded 13, Ryan Grande added 12 and Tommy Griffitts had 10.
Johnson also led the team with seven rebounds and dished out three assists. Lee nailed four three-pointers and tied Johnson with the team-leading three assists. Grande hit three three-pointers and had two steals and Alonzo added two threes and went 7-9 from the free throw line. Griffitts tied Johnson with seven rebounds and had two blocks.
It was a good shooting night for both teams as Cal Lutheran (50.0-percent) and Occidental (50.8) both kept the points coming. The Kingsmen outscored the Tigers 50-33 in the first half, but the Tigers turned it around and scored 48-33 in the second. Every little bit of scoring helped as the Kingsmen held on.
The teams remained close to even as Cal Lutheran was 52.2-percent from behind the three-point line and Occidental was 57.1. The Kingsmen dished out 13 assists to OXY's 15 and had 10 turnovers to their nine.
The main difference in the game was bench points. Cal Lutheran outscored OXY 53-11 as Johnson, Alonzo and Grande led the way.
The Kingsmen had a big first half, going up 50-33. Cal Lutheran let off the gas pedal in the second and the Tigers slowly crept back into the game. With 2:50 left in the game, the lead was gone as the score was tied at 74. The Kingsmen turned it back on as Lee drilled a three and Griffitts made two free throws.
Cal Lutheran made most of the free throws down the stretch as the Kingsmen held on and defeated the Tigers.
The Kingsmen look to continue their winning ways Saturday and are at Pomona-Pitzer at 5 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 83, OXY 81
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
