The California Lutheran University Kingsmen basketball team defeated the La Verne Leopards 113-87 with six players scoring double-digits in points.
Cal Lutheran needed this win to keep their second place spot in Southern California Intecollegiate Athletic Conference standing. The Violet and Gold were knotted up with La Verne before Feb. 18 and after it’s victory, the Kingsmen pulled away into outright second in conference.
Cal Lutheran controlled the pace of the game from the beginning. Senior forward Wolfgang Wood started the first half off with a jump-shot to begin the Kingsmen’s dominance. The ball continued to stay on the Kingsmen’s side as they closed out the first half up by 10 points, 56-44.
Photo by Tracy Olson–Sports Information Director
According to the Clusports website, “junior guard Caleb Richey set a new Cal Lutheran single-season assists record with his third of the night to break the 19-year-old record of 164 set by Johnny Allen in the 1997-98 season. He now has 172 during the 2016-17 season.”
The second half continued just as the first with Cal Lutheran maintaining their 10-point lead. At the 12-minute mark the Kingsmen pushed their lead further. Sophomore guard Kyle Ferreira threw up a three-point shot that found the net, putting the Kingsmen up by 15, 77-62.
The lead increased from there with the Violet and Gold putting up 36 more points before the final buzzer to La Verne’s 26 points.
The Kingsmen shot higher than 50 percent in all columns. 62.3 percent of their field goals hit the mark, free throws were at 66 percent and 56 percent was made from beyond the three-point line.
Six Kingsmen contributed double digits in the points column, making it a team win. Sophomore guard Austin Cole hit the highest mark with 22 points, along with three steals and three assists. Wood and Ferreira follwed suit with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Ferreira missed a double-double by one with nine assists and two steals.
The sixth-man junior guard/forward Kenneth Moffett had 16 points and six rebounds in the victory. Senior guard Adrian Francis, playing in his first contest since being injured, put up 13 points. Richey handed out 10 of the 17 assists for the Kingsmen, clinching a double-double with 13 points and added six rebounds. With help from his teammates making their shots, Richey was able to surpass the single-season assists record and currently has 172 in 2016-17.
The Kingsmen currently sit one game back from the first place spot in the SCIAC standings. Cal Lutheran has one more regular season game before playoffs begin. The possibility of hosting the tournament is in contention for the Kingsmen.
La Verne will move down to the third place position and the Kingsmen will need to pull out a win against Caltech to hold their second place position for the postseason tournament.
The Violet and Gold will host the Caltech Beavers for their Senior Night Feb. 21. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m.
Courtney Sooy
Sports Editor