Sluggish Cal Lutheran Falls to Pomona, 85-69

Cal Lutheran Coach Ed Anderson said that Friday night’s game against Cal Poly Pomona in the opening round of the Pomona-Pitzer Tournament would help put the Kingsmen “over the hump.” But after an 85-69 thrashing by Cal Poly Pomona, it seems that Cal Lutheran hasn’t even gotten to the hump yet.

Cal Lutheran (2-5) looked ragged at the beginning of the game, but played well for the final 10 minutes of the half to take a 40-39 lead at halftime. But that was as good as it would get for the Kingsmen.

Cal Lutheran will play The Master’s College in the consolation game tonight at 6.

Cal Poly Pomona came out firing in the second half and turned its one-point deficit into a 19-point lead with five minutes left in the game.

“We got the lead at the half and then we quit playing,” said Anderson, whose team has now lost four straight games. “They out-hustled us in the second half and that’s what’s so distressing.”

Cal Poly Pomona (4-2) was actually out-hustling the Kingsmen from the outset.

The Broncos, with nine players over 6-5, were only allowing Cal Lutheran one shot on each possession. That is, if the Kingsmen, who had 23 turnovers, held onto the ball long enough to get a shot off.

Meanwhile, the Broncos built their lead to 21-11 by crashing the offensive boards for two and sometimes three shots per possession. The Broncos also got some long-range help from guard Darron Suttle, who scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the first half.

The Kingsmen began a comeback with 11:30 remaining in the first half when Jeff Wrout hit a 20-foot jumper from the corner. Cal Lutheran held Pomona scoreless for the next six minutes and took a 23-21 lead with 6:16 left when Pat Gibbs scored six of his 12 first-half points in a one-minute span.

Cal Lutheran played the Broncos even for the remainder of the half and emerged with a one-point lead at halftime after Wrout hit a 25-foot bomb with five seconds left.

That lead was short-lived, as Suttle and forward Gregg Brofer led a second-half onslaught that buried the Kingsmen.

Brofer finished the game with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Jeff Wrout led the Kingsmen with 15 points and was one of the few bright spots.