The California Lutheran University men’s basketball team hosted the Claremont Mudd-Scripps Stags on Saturday, Jan. 27 inside Gilbert Arena. The Kingsmen fell short to the Stags by the final score of 76-57.

The Kingsmen’s ambition to defeat Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who had a six-game winning streak, became apparent right away with the Kingsmen scoring within the first two minutes of the game. Junior guard Michael Wadsworth scored, allowing Cal Lutheran to capture the lead. However, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps did not hesitate to put points on the board and gave the Kingsmen a close challenge throughout the game.

“We felt that if we defended them and took certain looks away from a few of their guys we could be successful. I feel, for the most part, that we were able to do that. They made some tough shots that were contested and we struggled on the offensive end.” said Head Coach Tim Fusina.

Junior shooting guard Kyle Ferreira, junior guard Austin Cole and Wadsworth scored with about a minute left in the first half, giving Claremont-Mudd-Scipps only a three-point lead going into halftime. The Kingsmen had 11 field goals and two three-pointers. The Stags also had 11 field goals, but had three three-pointers.

The Kingsmen struggled to pull ahead in the second half. The Stags’ competitive offense continued to put pressure on Cal Lutheran only allowing them to score 33 points compared to the 49 points the Stags put up. However the tension quickly grew when Claremont-Mudd-Scripps’ junior forward Patrick Myers got ejected with a technical foul on Ferreira.

This did not phase Ferreira; scoring a game-high 23 points and went 100 percent from the free throw line, sinking six baskets. He also had a team-high of six rebounds and two steals. Noteworthy players for the Kingsmen were Cole, contributing 12 points and junior guard Palmer Chaplin with a career-high of eight rebounds.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps did not let up with Ferreira’s fiery performance, continuing to increase the lead towards the end of the second half with the help of Stags’ sophomore guard Miles President. President scored a team high of 19 points and had five rebounds.    

Fusina mentioned not having senior guard KJ Moffett out on the court hurt the Kingsmen due to Moffett being one of the best defenders on the team.

“KJ has been our unquestioned leader for the entire season and has done an outstanding job in that role. We have capable guys that have stepped in and have done a great job for us as well, but not having a player like KJ on the floor for us hurts,” Fusina said.

When the buzzer went off, the Kingsmen’s efforts were not enough to pull out the comeback. Cal Lutheran ended the second half with 11 field goals and four three-pointers while the Stagg’s ended with 19 field goals and eight three-pointers.

“This is early on in the second half of the conference. I think we just have to build an offensive game, get a win streak going towards the second half of the season and to get ready to try and jump into the top four. So we have to make a final push at the end.” Cole said. 

The Kingsmen look to continue to improve their game both offensively and defensively to prepare for the rest of the season. 

“The main thing we have to focus on is playing hard and executing defensively. We have turned a corner defensively in the last week or so, and that is something we can build upon,” Fusina said.

The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen will travel to Whittier, California to take on the Poets next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Marissa McCardell
Reporter