Tournament MVP Josh Angle (6'3''-G) had 17 points and first-year guard Will Householter (6'1''-G) went 6-6 from the line in the final minute to finish with 15 as the Claremont-Mudd Scripps men's basketball team defeated Cal Lutheran in the SCIAC Postseason Championship finals on Saturday evening at Gilbert Arena.
With the win, CMS improves to 20-6 and earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament when selections are announced on Monday, earning its first bid since the 2018 team won then SCIAC title. Cal Lutheran falls to 23-4 and sees its 19-game winning streak snapped, which came on Dec. 7 to CMS by almost the exact same score (60-55).
This time around, CMS built a 16-point lead early in the second half, and had to hold on as the Kingsmen came all the way back to within four points.
The Stags took a 32-27 lead into halftime and used a 13-2 run to extend the lead up to 45-29 on a Houselholter three-pointer with 15:34 to go. Cal Lutheran tightened up the defense, though, and came all the way back to within 49-45 with 7:16 left.
Angle scored on a lay-up off a pretty feed from Caelan Jones (6'5''-G-2000) with 5:25 to go to get the lead back up to 51-45, ending a stretch in which CMS scored just three points in 10 minutes, but was able to get enough stops to stay in front.
Angle went to the bench with an injury with 4:18 to go but was able to come back in a minute later. Jones knocked down a big baseline jumper in his absence to push the lead to eight.
Rhett Carter scored down low to push the lead to 55-45, but Cal Lutheran had one final push to get to within 55-50 and put the Stags at the line for a pair of one-and-ones. Householter, who came in shooting 94.7 percent from the line, hit all four foul shots around a Kingsmen three-pointer, and then salted it away with two more to put the Stags up eight with nine seconds left.
Carter finished with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Stags, as he and Angle were able to earn a SCIAC title after coming back for their fifth (COVID) year after graduating from Claremont McKenna in 2023. The Stags, in fact, started four graduate students, with Will King (6'5''-G) (who graduated from Colby) and Caelan Jones (who graduated from Boston University) also in the fold (Jones will come back next year for his final season of eligibility).

Courtesy of cmsathletics.org

SCIAC Final: California Lutheran - Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 55-61

SCIAC Semifinals:
California Lutheran - Chapman 85-76
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps - Pomona-Pitzer 74-71

All-Tournament MVP: Josh Angle (6'3''-G) of CMS
Player of the Year: Josh Angle (6'3''-G) of CMS
Defensive Player of the Year: Desi Burrage (6'1''-G) of Cal Lutheran
Newcomer of the Year: Jasper Hedin (6'5''-G) of Pomona-Pitzer
Coach of the Year: Russell White of Cal Lutheran

All-SCIAC First Team 2024

Angle

Burrage

Bergman

Cookson

Lewis

First Team
Josh Angle (6'3''-G) of CMS
Desi Burrage (6'1''-G) of Cal Lutheran
Ty Bergman (6'7''-F) of Pomona-Pitzer
Joe Cookson (6'6''-G) of Pomona-Pitzer
Jake Heberle (6'4''-G) of Chapman
Devon Lewis (6'2''-PG) of Cal Lutheran

All-SCIAC Second Team 2024

Carter

Currey

Griffitts

Smith

Second Team
Rhett Carter (6'9''-C) of CMS
Kendrick Currey (6'4''-G) of Redlands
Tommy Griffitts (6'7''-F) of Cal Lutheran
Neil Owens (6'1''-G) of Redlands
Aamari Smith (6'3''-G) of Whittier
Blakeley Stoughton (6'3''-G) of Chapman