COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT : Otterbein Next on the Trail for Pioneering Cal Lutheran

Deep in uncharted territory, the Cal Lutheran basketball team will meet Otterbein College of Ohio in an NCAA Division III sectional semifinal today at 4 p.m. at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

The Kingsmen (16-11) are enjoying only their fifth winning season in the program’s 31 years, and for the first time they have posted back-to-back winning seasons. Cal Lutheran, which had not participated in postseason play before this season, earned a tournament berth after winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship.

Cal Lutheran got its ticket to the Great Lakes-West regional and a berth among the final 16 after upsetting defending West region champion UC San Diego, 88-70, in the second round Saturday. The Kingsmen received a first-round bye.

Cal Lutheran hardly looked like a final 16 team at the start of the season when it dropped eight of its first 11 games. Simon O’Donnell, Cal Lutheran’s starting center, was suspended for the first two games because he violated unspecified school rules. He then missed three more games in February because of an ankle injury. Cal Lutheran’s only two February losses came when O’Donnell was injured.

“We came up through the road of hard knocks,” Cal Lutheran Coach Mike Dunlap said.

If Cal Lutheran beats Otterbein, it could face top-ranked Calvin (Mich.) on Saturday. Calvin (27-1) will play host to Gustavus Adolphus (22-6) at 6 p.m. today.

Cal Lutheran relies on guard Jeff deLaveaga, the leading scorer in Division III with a 29.2 average. O’Donnell, a 6-foot-6 senior, averages 15.5 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds. The Kingsmen are riding a season-high five-game winning streak.

No. 13 Otterbein reached the Division III Final Four last season and this season won the Ohio Athletic Conference by six games.

Otterbein (26-3), which has a school-record 21-game winning streak, is led by senior guards Jerry Dennis and Larry Laisure, the team’s only returning starters. Dennis averages 19.4 points and a team-leading 6.5 assists; Laisure averages 13.2 points.

Otterbein’s leading scorer is 6-3 sophomore forward Nick Gutman, who averages 20.6 points. Junior forward Mike Couzins averages 12.6 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds.