Scoring Surge by Ridley Propels Cal Lutheran to 91-84 Victory

The Cal Lutheran basketball team got together Saturday night and threw a Stag party in the Kingsmen gym.

The foils were supposed to be the Claremont-Mudd Stags, who entered the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game 0-1 in conference play and 4-7 overall.

But the Stags turned out to be better than advertised, so Kingsmen forward Damon Ridley took it upon himself to provide a pleasant finish for Cal Lutheran.

Ridley scored 34 points and made the big plays down the stretch as the Kingsmen came from behind to defeat Claremont, 91-84, in a game that saw 14 lead changes in the second half and four in the final 2 minutes 12 seconds.

Ridley, who had seven steals and five rebounds, scored 10 consecutive points midway through the second half to put CLU ahead, 74-69, with six minutes remaining.

The Kingsmen, the defending SCIAC champions, still led by five, 79-74, with 3:41 to play, but Claremont scored the next six points to take a one-point lead with 2:12 remaining.

A put-back basket by reserve forward Kelly Crosby with less than a minute left gave Cal Lutheran (10-3, 2-0) the lead for good, but it was not until Rupert Sapwell (17 points, 11 rebounds) grabbed an offensive rebound and banked in a four-footer that the Kingsmen--ahead, 88-84, with 20 seconds remaining--had any breathing room.

Ridley accounted for the final score by sinking a three-point basket just inside the half-court line at the buzzer.

“Ridley took the game over,” CLU Coach Mike Dunlap said. “Someone different steps up each night for us and does what it takes to win.”

Cal Lutheran, off to its best start ever and 5-0 at home, struggled in the first half but sank six three-point shots to trail by only three, 43-40, at intermission.

Claremont got a big lift from its bench, as reserves Kevin Zitar (19 points) and Ryan McKee (18) led the Stags in scoring. Claremont’s bench outscored the CLU reserves, 40-11.

But Cal Lutheran, as it did Wednesday in its conference opener at La Verne, rallied in the second half to pull out the victory. The comeback didn’t surprise Ridley, who is averaging 30 points and seven steals in conference play.

“The same thing happened against La Verne--we just feel we can win,” Ridley said. “If we get down, we do things to pick it up and come back to win.”

Guard Paul Tapp had 16 points and five rebounds for CLU, and Crosby added nine points off the bench.