NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - After playing even with the Division I Cal State Northridge squad over the opening half, the Cal Lutheran men's basketball team fell victim to a lengthy Matadors scoring run to start the second in a 75-52 loss on Tuesday night.

Box Score: CSUN 75, CLU 52 - F

In the second half alone the Matadors outscored the Kingsmen 30-10 in the paint and 22-2 off turnovers. CSUN pounded the boards and converted point blank, multiple chance opportunities to spark a 17-4 run breaking a halftime deadlock.

The key contributor was Lenny Daniel who shot 15-for-18 from the floor and led all players with 31 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in 29 minutes of floor time.

It was a battle of the speed and tenacity of Cal Lutheran against the size and rebounding of Cal State Northridge. Early on the Matadors size provided an early five point lead less than two minutes into the game before the Kingsmen quickly responded.

Offensively Greg Grimm used his aggressiveness towards the basket to lead the Kingsmen with 12 points and three assists playing nearly the entire opening half. A team defensive effort sparked by the tenacity of Kwaminique Brandon led to 11 Matadors turnovers which Cal Lutheran converted into 14 points.

Cal Lutheran led by as many as five with under two minutes left in the period before a late scoring run by Cal State Northridge tied the game at the half.  The Matadors in total outscored the Kingsmen 22-4 and led by double figures throughout a majority of the period.

After being held to 31 points in the first half CSUN had matched that total with nearly eight minutes remaining in regulation. In contrast the Kingsmen were held to 21 points in the second half, with Grimm being held to just one in the final frame after putting up 12 in the first.

Aaron Van Klaveren led Cal Lutheran with 15 points and nine rebounds including five on the offensive glass.

It was a homecoming for city of Northridge native Jayvaughn Nettles who knocked down a three-pointer and grabbed three boards at the Matadome on Tuesday night.

Cal Lutheran (2-2) will make its regular season home debut on Saturday, Dec. 11 hosting La Sierra at 7:30 p.m. The Kingsmen defeated the Golden Eagles in their regular season opener by a 75-56 margin.