THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Tied at 26 apiece at halftime, a 13-2 Cal Lutheran scoring run created the cushion needed to defeat the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens 61-52 at Gilbert Arena Wednesday evening.
Box score: CLU 61, PP 52 - F
Adding to the evening's festivities was the effort of senior guard Greg Grimm. Leading all scorers with 20 points, his basket at the 14:15 mark of the first half helped him join a prestigious list of Kingsmen greats as the Vista, Calif.-native is now the 24th individual to score at least 1,000 points in purple and gold.
His effort was the most notable of several players that contributed greatly to Cal Lutheran's nine-point win over Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday.
Sophomore guard Jayvaughn Nettles finished with 11 points, while teammate Jeremy Sulker-Hall added another 10 points and five rebounds of his own.
After scoring the first basket of the game, Pomona-Pitzer would not see the lead for the remainder of the first half as a combination of baskets made both in the paint, and from behind the three-point arc would help CLU take a 26-16 lead with 6:27 remaining until halftime.
But the visiting Sagehens would end the half on a more positive note than which it began as they scored 10 straight points to draw even at 26-26 going into the locker room.
Energized by the quality of their play to end the first half, Pomona-Pitzer would score four of the first six points in the second half to take a brief two-point lead.
After exchanging the lead with one another momentarily, the Cal Lutheran defense would provide the fuel for a 13-2 run, including a five-minute stretch that saw the Kingsmen score 12 consecutive points, to take a game-high 13 point lead.
Unlike their initial efforts in the first half, Pomona-Pitzer would not be able to dig themselves out of this deficit as the Kingsmen would trade baskets throughout the remainder of the game en route to an eventual 61-52 victory.
Scoring 15 points of their own off 13 Sagehen turnovers, Cal Lutheran also was afforded the luxury of shooting in the double-bonus for the last 10-plus minutes of the game as it seemed that Pomona-Pitzer just could not stop the Kingsmen on either end of the floor without committing a foul.
CLU would make the most of the opportunities given to them at the charity stripe as they successfully converted on 12 of 17 free throw opportunities to prevent the Sagehens from erasing their lead once again.
Cal Lutheran (10-9, 4-4 SCIAC) will now start a brief two-game SCIAC road trip beginning at La Verne (11-8, 6-2 SCIAC) this Saturday, tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.