CLC Loses, 83-81, to Christ College After Missing Tip

For the last few weeks, Cal Lutheran Coach Ed Anderson has been trying to get his team to bounce back from a string of defeats.

Friday night at Cal Lutheran, the Kingsmen trailed Christ College Irvine, 83-81, with two seconds remaining in the game when Anderson called for a bounce pass off the backboard.

The half-court pass from forward Pat Gibbs ricocheted off the glass into the hands of Darren Ranck, but his layup attempt failed and the Kingsmen suffered their sixth straight defeat.

“We go over that play in practice,” Anderson said. “It’s something you use maybe once or twice a year. It almost worked for us tonight. We just missed the layup.”

David Wild, the Christ College Irvine coach was surprised by the play and relieved that it didn’t work.

“It was a little like the old NFL ‘throw it up and try to tip it’ play,” Wild said. “We didn’t expect it. I give Coach Anderson a lot of credit for trying it. It almost worked.”

For much of the game, Cal Lutheran (2-7) looked like it was finally going to turn its season around.

The Kingsmen led, 78-77, with 2:55 left in the game and seemed like they had the victory within their grasp, until Christ Colle guard Bob Pallotta took control of the game

Pallotta, a freshman, drove into the lane, scored and completed a three-point play after being fouled by the Kingsmen’s Mark Taggatz. Pallotta’s free throw gave the Eagles an 80-78 lead.

Cal Lutheran trailed, 81-79, with :54 seconds left in the game, but Gibbs tied it with a 15 foot jump shot from the baseline.

The Eagles worked the clock down to three seconds and gave the ball to Pallotta near the top of the key. Pallotta used a head fake to lose defender John Aguirre and then drove into the lane once again to make a short jump shot.

“He’s just a freshman and he’s played sparingly,” Wild said. “I guess that’s going to have to change.”

Pallotta wasn’t the only freshman to have an impact in the game. Cal Lutheran’s Steve Delaveaga, who had been leading the team in scoring (11.6 points a game) as first man off the bench, finally got his first start.

Delaveaga capitalized on the opportunity, scoring 15 of his team-high 17 points in the first half.

“Coach Anderson told me after the Claremont tournament to make the most of my opportunities when they came,” Delaveaga said. “Tonight I got my chance. All you can do is wait for the chance and I feel good about tonight’s performance.”

Derwin Appleberry, a former player at College of the Canyons, led Christ College Irvine with a game-high 23 points. Forward Tim Surridge added 22.

Christ Coll. Irvine 83, Cal Lutheran 81