Cal Lutheran Comes Apart in 2nd Half

Rob Lucas and Jon Haar combined for 55 points to lead Southern California College to a 95-87 win over Golden State Athletic Conference-rival Cal Lutheran on Tuesday night in Costa Mesa.

CLU, which has lost three straight conference games, led for much of the game and held a 42-40 halftime lead. But the Kingsmen were unable to stop a surging SCC fast break in the game’s final minutes. In a stretch that began with seven minutes left, Cal Lutheran saw its 73-68 lead crumble as Southern Cal College went on a 16-4 run.

“We just didn’t get back on defense,” CLU Coach Larry Lopez said. “They ran a very good fast break and that really hurt us.”

Lopez added that Southern Cal’s defense, which featured an assortment of zones, caused the Kingsmen problems. “We didn’t adjust well offensively to their zone defenses. They used different zones and we weren’t effective on offense.”

Steve deLaveaga, CLU’s leading scorer with a 19.5 average, had been averaging 31 points in conference play. After falling into foul trouble, DeLaveaga was forced to the bench and finished with 15 points. The Kingsmen were led by Darren Ranck’s 22 points.

The Kingsmen’s offense sputtered, but their three-point shooting sparkled. CLU hit nine three-pointers, including five by Ranck, and shot 50% overall. But the Kingsmen went to the free-throw line only 17 times and converted 11 points. SCC made 22 of 30 foul shots.

“They were aggressive--banging us and pressuring us,” Lopez said. “And the fact that we didn’t go to the line much really hurt us.”