PASADENA, CA – An early scoring outburst proved to be a difference maker in Cal Lutheran's 77-53 win over Caltech on Saturday evening.

After trading field goals to start the game, Cal Lutheran went on a decisive scoring run. Holding an 8-6 lead with 16:44 left in the stanza, the Kingsmen went on a critical 18-1 run as they increased their lead to 26-7. During that 9:35 stretch the Kingsmen went 8-for-14 from the field while Caltech couldn't connect on its 15 attempts.

Both teams played evenly during the frame's final minutes as Cal Lutheran took a 36-17 lead into the locker room.

Coming out of the intermission Caltech trimmed their deficit down to 14 points after Nasser Al-Rayes made three straight foul shots to make the score 42-28 with 15:22 left in the contest. The Kingsmen responded by scoring nine of the next 13 points to push their cushion to 21 points.

The Beavers got as close as a 16-point spread with 9:34 left in the game but couldn't pull any closer.

Cal Lutheran nailed 52.9 percent (27-of-51) of their shots as 10 different players hit at least one shot for the visitors.

Luke Lango scored a team high 16 points while playing a game best 34 minutes. Al-Rayes contributed a career high 11 points.

Arik Smith led the Cal Lutheran scoring effort with a 16-point evening. He missed on only one of his seven attempts from floor. Coltrane Powell added 11 points.