THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - A hot shooting start and big first half cushion was the major difference in a 72-56 victory over Caltech on Wednesday night. Cal Lutheran made 7-of-10 three pointers to start the game and knocked down 14-of-17 free throws in all to keep its postseason hopes intact.

Box Score: CLU 72, CIT 56 - F

The Kingsmen offense fired on all cylinders throughout a majority of the first half not only from downtown but also near the basket. Aaron Van Klaveren and Jeremy Sulker-Hall combined for 17 points and 14 rebounds in the first half.

Sulker-Hall finished with a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor in a season-high 38 minutes of play.

Van Klaveren finished with 16 and 10 for his eighth double-double of the season.

The SCIAC's leading scorer Greg Grimm was a focal point of the Beavers defense and they held him scoreless through nearly the first 17 minutes of the game. He dished out three assists before scoring eight points in the final 3:01 of the opening period and gave the Kingsmen their largest lead of the night at 22 points.

Grimm finished with 14 points and six assists while teammate Jayvaughn Nettles scored 11 points including a trio of triples. He has put up double figures in five of the past six games and knocked down a couple of three's early on that put the Kingsmen up nine as CLU never trailed on the evening.

However 15 second half fouls, including 11 called on the three CLU post players of Sulker-Hall, Van Klaveren and Henry Leff put Caltech at the line 20 times as the Beavers hung around.

The Caltech scoring trio of Mike Edwards (16 points), Ryan Elmquist (15 points) and Todd Cramer (15 points) contributed 46 of the team's 56 total points with each playing 37 or more minutes. This group accounted for all 24 Caltech's free throw attempts and knocked down 17.

Cal Lutheran's bench outscored that of its counterpart 17-7 with Steven Davis earning season-highs of six points and 26 minutes. Prior to tonight's game he had scored only six points all season and had not played more than nine minutes in any contest.

Cal Lutheran (12-11, 6-6 SCIAC) will be on the road Saturday, Feb. 19 at Occidental (12-11, 6-6 SCIAC) scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off.