Cal Lutheran Beats Caltech to Stay in 1st

THOUSAND OAKS —  There are times when first impressions can be deceiving, but Saturday night’s Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball game between Caltech and Cal Lutheran was not one of them.

From the moment the teams took the court for pre-game warmups, it was obvious that Cal Lutheran not only had a sizable height advantage, but that the Kingsmen were stronger, quicker and more talented.

The result was a 101-41 victory for Cal Lutheran (16-1, 5-1 in conference play) which kept the Kingsmen in a first-place tie with Pomona-Pitzer in the SCIAC.

Cal Lutheran, which tied La Verne for the SCIAC title last season, will play on the road against the Leopards on Wednesday night.

Whittier upset La Verne, 81-76, Saturday night, but Cal Lutheran is expected to have its hands full against the Leopards.

Against Caltech (8-6, 0-6), the Kingsmen hit 12 of their first 15 shots to take a 28-8 lead with 10 minutes 47 seconds left in the first half. They made 16 of their first 19 shots in the second half to take an 82-24 lead with 11:32 top play.

Derrick Clark (15 points) capped Cal Lutheran’s 37-8 blitzkrieg to start the second half with a 180-degree, reverse, two-handed dunk.

That prompted Kingsmen Coach Mike Dunlap to call time out and make mass substitutions.

“It’s a little hard to stay real intense in a game like that, but we wanted to play well so the second-string guys could get a chance to play,” Cal Lutheran guard Paul Tapp said.

All of Cal Lutheran’s starters scored in double figures, led by Damon Ridley with 19 points and Tapp with 18.

Tapp, who moved into the starting lineup at the start of SCIAC play to replace injured Jason Smith, hit seven of nine shots and made four of six three-pointers.

“I’m really feeling good about my shot right now,” Tapp said. “We all felt like we had to pick it up when Jason went out and I’m glad I’ve been able to do my part.”

Cal Lutheran led, 45-16, at halftime, despite substituting freely and running deliberate plays to take time off the clock.

Steve Tsai led Caltech with 14 points, all in the second half.