Cal Lutheran Could Be in Uninviting Position

The Cal Lutheran men’s basketball team did what it needed by defeating visiting Redlands in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game Thursday night, but Claremont-Mudd’s victory over Pomona-Pitzer gave the Stags the conference title.

A victory by Cal Lutheran (19-6, 11-3 in conference play) combined with a Pomona-Pitzer victory over Claremont-Mudd would have resulted in a three-way tie for first place and a two-game playoff to determine the conference’s automatic entry into the NCAA Division III tournament. But now the Kingsmen’s postseason chances are in the hands of the selection committee, which will announce the pairings for the 64-team tournament Sunday.

If Cal Lutheran does qualify for the playoffs, the Kingsmen will have to play much better than they did in an 83-80 victory over Redlands.

Cal Lutheran led by 10 or more points on seven occasions in the second half against the Bulldogs, but it took a Rob Beckerley steal with one second remaining to preserve the victory.

“Our defensive intensity just wasn’t there tonight,” Cal Lutheran guard Mark Heerema said. “We couldn’t put them away. Usually we wear teams down with our defense, but tonight we weren’t able to do that.”

Heerema’s eighth three-point basket of the game gave Cal Lutheran an 80-69 lead with 2 minutes 55 seconds left, but the Kingsmen couldn’t put Redlands (8-17, 5-9) away as they missed seven of eight free throws down the stretch.

Heerema, who scored 22 of his 28 points in the second half, had an opportunity to extend Cal Lutheran’s lead to 14 points with 1:57 remaining but he missed three consecutive free throws.

After Redlands cut its deficit to 80-74, Beckerley missed the front end of a one and one. Tim Bias followed with a three-point basket for Redlands and suddenly the Kingsmen were clinging to an 80-77 lead against a team they defeated by 23 earlier this season.

“Our minds just weren’t where they should have been,” Cal Lutheran Coach Rich Rider said. “They were supposed to be here, but they played like they were in Pomona.”

Jon Rider, the coach’s son, hit a 17-foot jump shot from the right corner to give the Kingsmen an 82-77 advantage with 29 seconds left, but Bias made a three-pointer to cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to two.