written by Liam Flenniken
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran men's basketball went hunting, taking down La Verne 87-66 on Wednesday night.
The Leopards (6-13, 1-9) came out firing early, potentially catching the Kingsmen off guard as they could have been looking ahead to a crucial game for SCIAC rankings against Redlands on Saturday.
Despite La Verne's lack of a true big man, it seemed to be getting all the big rebounds, especially offensively, outgaining the Kingsmen 7-5 in that category.
Down four with about a minute left, the Kingsmen would score the opening half's last six points, including a step-back jumper by Nick Attanasio at the buzzer to give the Kingsmen their first lead in seven minutes of game time going into the half.
Though it doesn't necessarily reflect in the box score, the Leopards very much went into halftime with momentum.
At halftime, Regals soccer player Madie Fahey was honored at halfcourt with the CalHope Courage Award, given to a select number of collegiate athletes in California for bravery and resilience shown off the court.
The Kingsmen would come out of the locker room firing, totaling 16 of the half's first 19 points. Coach White directly credited guard Ze'ev Remer for being the spark the team needed.
"Ze'ev was a great energy boost to start the second half. The rest of the guys followed," White said.
This trend would hold, as Cal Lu would go on to outscore the Leopards 48-29, securing its fifth win of over 20 points this season.
Senior Taj Regans set a new career-high with 13 points in just 13 minutes. The 5'8" guard cashed five points in 20 seconds early in the second half, sending the Kingsmen faithful into a frenzy.
Senior forward Tommy Griffitts recorded 17 rebounds, tying him for seventh-most in a single game in Cal Lutheran history.
This marks the Kingsmen's second eight-game winning streak of the season, and their sixteenth in their last 17.
They will look to bring the streak to nine at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8 at Redlands, who they beat by just two in the teams' first matchup in December.
Key Stats:
Devon Lewis - 21 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST
Tommy Griffitts - 6 PTS, 17 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL
Taj Regans - 13 PTS, 5 FG
Ze'ev Remer - 13 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST