Cal Lutheran Battles to Defeat Occidental

Rupert Sapwell was cut above the eye, Dave Ulloa crashed awkwardly to the floor and Damon Ridley was brought to his knees by severe cramping in both calves. Yes, Cal Lutheran was bleeding, bruised and battered--but smiling--after its 89-80 victory over Occidental at Rush Gymnasium.

The showdown Wednesday night between the top teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference did not disappoint.

“It looked like it was gonna be a fistfight and it was,” CLU Coach Mike Dunlap said.

With its eighth consecutive victory, CLU, ranked 10th in NCAA Division III, increased its SCIAC lead to two games. The Kingsmen (15-3, 7-0 in SCIAC play), have an 11-game conference winning streak, dating to last season.

Occidental (11-6, 5-2 in SCIAC) staged run after run but drew no closer than four points.

“Our defense stopped those runs,” said Ridley, a junior guard. “We pride ourselves on trying to get up real tight in a tough game.”

Ridley, who had two of CLU’s 11 steals, made three key plays in the final two minutes to keep the Tigers at bay.

First, he scored on a driving layup, twisting in midair through the Occidental defense, for an 81-74 lead. Moments after the Tigers responded with a basket, Ridley saw Sapwell cutting through the lane and led him perfectly for a layup and an 83-76 advantage.

On the Tigers’ ensuing possession, Ridley blocked Tor Myhren’s three-point attempt.

“I’m just going off instincts, doing what I have to do to win,” said Ridley who hit nine of 13 field-goal attempts and all six free throws to lead CLU with 26 points.

Myhren connected on a three-pointer on Occidental’s next trip down the court, but CLU sank six of eight fouls shots in the final 1:14 to seal the triumph.

Sapwell, a sophomore forward, had a free throw and two crucial rebounds in the final minute. The bigger surprise was that he was playing at all.

With 17:12 left, he collided with Occidental’s Sandy Brown and suffered a gash over his eyebrow. The cut bled profusely.

“When he went down, that kinda picked me up,” Ridley said. “The sight of blood gets everybody up, especially when it is one of your own.”

Ulloa, a freshman point guard, also returned to the game after an injury, a hip pointer in his case. There was an anxious moment after he landed in a heap, because Ulloa broke a vertebra in his neck earlier this season, but after several minutes on the sideline he was able to return to the lineup.