THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Tommy Griffitts became the newest member of the Kingsmen 1000-point club on Monday afternoon, as Cal Lutheran defeated Messiah 81-46. Griffitts finished with 16 points in just 13 minutes, with the Kingsmen's hot start allowing 17 different players to see game action.

Cal Lutheran entered today's game on a red-hot seven-game winning streak. Hailing from Pennsylvania, Messiah hadn't had that level of success this season, entering the game with a record of 1-8. The Kingsmen fell to the Falcons in their most recent meeting, which took place exactly 5 years ago to this day.

Cal Lutheran jumped out to an early 17-6 lead with just over ten minutes remaining in the first half, with Griffitts' hot start finding him one basket away from reaching 1000 career points as a member of the Kingsmen. That's when Devon Lewis, who reached the same milestone earlier this month, made a hustle play on defense leading to a Miles Griffin steal. Griffin pushed the ball in transition and saw a wide-open Griffitts leaking out on the fastbreak. Griffin lobbed it up for Griffitts to slam it down, creating a special moment for the senior out of Carlsbad, California, as he would become the 29th 1000-point scorer for Cal Lutheran men's basketball.

On Griffitts' night, head coach Russell White said, "I'm very happy for Tommy, it's a nice accomplishment. He's had quite the journey with us, and he's put in a lot of time".

White continued, "And he's not done yet."

Reflecting on his career at Cal Lutheran, Griffitts shared, "It's been an incredible ride, being able to do it alongside the other guys in Coach White's first recruiting class and build the program to what it is today. Building relationships with all the teammates I've had throughout the years, that's the best part about this school."

Griffitts would finish the first half with a team-high 12 points as the Kingsmen headed to the locker room with a 39-16 lead.

The second half was more of the same for the Kingsmen. Jake Martin caught fire, scoring 12 of his 17 points after the break. He would lead the team in scoring on the day.

Andrew Pipersburgh had a monstrous day on the boards, pulling down 14 rebounds in just 17 minutes played. Impressively, seven of those came on the offensive end.

Cal Lutheran improved to 9-2 on the year, wrapping up its non-conference portion of the schedule. SCIAC play continues as the Kingsmen visit Chapman on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Key Stats:
Griffitts - 16 PTS, 7-9 FG, 4 REB
Martin - 17 PTS, 3-6 3FG, 4 REB
Pipersburgh - 14 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK
Lewis - 8 PTS, 5 AST, 1 STL