Cal Lutheran Get Rare Win At CMS

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags suffered their second home loss in a row in a 55-42 decision against the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen Wednesday night. It was only the third victory at CMS in the last seventeen tries for the Kingsmen.

Freshman Chris Blees (Carmichael [pictured]) led the scoring effort for the Stags with 13 points. Blees also led the squad in rebounds with five. Sophomore Conner Faught (Agoura Hills) added seven points to help the Stags along the way.

Kyle Knudsen's 13 points and four rebounds led Cal Lutheran. Andy Meier added eight points and eight rebounds in the post.

Early shooting fouls for the Stags gave the edge to Cal Lutheran. The Kingsmen made four free throws in the opening minutes to take an early 8-4 lead. In the first half, Cal Lutheran was 7-for-10 from the line, while CMS was 2-for-2.

Facing an eight-point deficit, senior Zach Weismann (Dallas, Texas) knocked down two free throws with 9:20 remaining in the half. Senior Dan Winterbottom (Tempe, Ariz.) added a layup after a steal by junior Austin Soldner to cut the lead to four. That would be the closest the Stags would get for the rest of the evening.

Cal Lutheran held a 27-16 advantage at the half.

Trailing 46-33 late in the second half, the Stags looked to have gained a little momentum after converting five consecutive free-throw attempts. A foul on the other end and several missed shots sealed the Stags' fate.

The Stags fell to 8-7 on the season with a 2-2 record in SCIAC play. CMS travels to Caltech on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff with the Beavers.