THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — California Lutheran University men's basketball handed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps its first conference loss of the season with a 78-65 statement win inside Gilbert Arena on Wednesday night.

The Kingsmen improved to 9-2 overall and 2-1 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play, while holding the Stags to just their third-lowest point total of the season. Sitting at the top of the conference, CMS was knocked down, and are now 10-2 overall and 4-1 in conference. 

Mason Johnson scored 20-plus points for the eighth time this year, and hit the 25-point mark for the fifth time. He was 9-18 from the field, hitting four three-pointers, to lead the Purple and Gold with 25 points. He added six assists and his four three-pointers were the most in a game this season. 

Jacob Alonzo was all over the court, putting up numbers in every statistical category. He scored 14 points, and just narrowly missed a double-double with nine assists. He recorded six rebounds, six steals, and one block, showing he can do anything and everything. It is the third time Alonzo has had six-plus steals and the 11^th time he has had five-plus assists this year. He has had nine assists twice and 10 assists once.  

Tommy Griffitts came off the bench and scored a career-high 20 points and has scored double-digits in six games. He was 7-11 from the field and made all six of his free throws. He led the Kingsmen with seven rebounds. 

The Kingsmen weathered the storm to start the game as CMS jumped out to a 13-6 lead just four minutes into the game. Cal Lutheran chipped away at the lead, eventually tying it up at 15 with 13:42 left. With the scored tied at 24, with 5:18 left in the half, the Kingsmen used a 12-6 run and were up 36-30 at the break.

Cal Lutheran came up with big play after big play as the Stags tried to get back into the game. With the Kingsmen up by six, Alonzo drilled a three-pointer, with the assist from Johnson, and the score was 59-68 with 4:55 left to play.

A few plays later, Johnson came up clutch. With a ball knocked free from his hands, and up in the air, Johnson soared over the competition to snag the loose ball, hitting a three-pointer of his own, and pushing the lead to 73-62 with 3:16 left. 

If that wasn't the finishing touch, it came a little bit later. Alonzo drove to the hoop with the shot clock winding down. He found a wide-open Desi Burrage, who made the Stags pay, giving the Kingsmen a 76-63 lead with 1:47 left. 

Cal Lutheran forced CMS into 17 turnovers, while only committing nine of their own. The Purple and Gold also got huge points from the bench, outscoring the Stags' 42-9. 

The Kingsmen look to make it two conference wins in a row as they travel to Redlands on Saturday for a game at 2 p.m.

Box Score: CLU 78, CMS 65
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director