Cal Lutheran Passes Test Against Nemesis UCSD by Scoring 100 : College basketball: Kingsmen blast Tritons by 21 points with furious first-half surge to remain undefeated.

It was only the seventh game of a long regular season, but the elation was obvious for host Cal Lutheran in a nonconference men’s basketball game against UC San Diego on Thursday night.

Damon Ridley’s basket had given the Kingsmen a 23-point lead with four minutes left in the first half and as Cal Lutheran’s players headed toward their bench after a Triton timeout, Ridley and center Rupert Sapwell not only exchanged the customary high-fives, but a bear hug as well.

That’s how well things went for the Kingsmen in the first half of 100-79 victory which was not as close as the final score.

The win moved Cal Lutheran (7-0) within one game of equaling the best start in the program’s history and it came against a team that had compiled a 19-7 record against Cal Lutheran over the years, including six victories in the previous seven meetings.

“This was a very substantial win for us,” Cal Lutheran Coach Mike Dunlap said. “They had beaten Redlands, a team in our conference, earlier this week, and they have a national reputation, so this win could be very important down the road.”

A nearly flawless 10-minute stretch during the first half keyed the victory.

Leading, 20-17, with 12:54 to play in the first half, Cal Lutheran went on a 29-7 run to take a 49-24 lead with 3:03 to play.

Defense and sharp shooting keyed the run as the Kingsmen pressured San Diego (6-3) into five turnovers and held the Tritons to three-of-12 shooting. Cal Lutheran was 11 of 15.

Dave Ulloa started the run with a three-point shot and Derrick Clark capped it with a tip-in of a missed shot by Paul LaMott.

Damon Ridley, who scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the first half, scored nine points on four-of-five shooting during the 16-0 surge that capped the onslaught.

“Everything was just clicking for us,” Ridley said. “We were moving the ball well, we were running our offense and we were playing good, tough defense. Our offense comes from our defense.”

Ridley played a fine all-around game as he had nine rebounds, four assists and six steals to go with his 19 points.

Ulloa, the point guard, made seven of nine shots from the field, totaling 17 points and six assists. Six Cal Lutheran players scored in double figures.

Clark had a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Kingsmen, who led, 51-28, at halftime, took a 72-39 lead with 13:38 left before San Diego trimmed its deficit to 76-56 with nine minutes remaining.

Nate Hantgin, a senior guard from Ventura High, led the Tritons with 17 points.

Cal Lutheran shot 54.2% from the field, including 60% (21 of 35) during the decisive first half. It was the fifth game this season in which Cal Lutheran has made 50% or more of its shots.