Mike Dunlap

The chants of defense, defense, began with nine minutes to play in Thursday night's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball game between Occidental and host Cal Lutheran, but the Kingsmen had received the message loud and clear about two minutes earlier. The result was a 66-55 Cal Lutheran victory that gave the Kingsmen (20-5, 12-2 in conference play) a share of their second consecutive SCIAC title and set up a playoff game against co-champion La Verne.

Occidental College and Cal Lutheran University brought out the brick and mortar and tried to add a new room to the Occidental gymnasium Saturday night. Cal Lutheran shot a miserable 28% from the field in the first half, and Occidental countered with 35% in the second half as the two teams looked like they were doing their best to rebuild the Berlin Wall. The Kingsmen finally found the range in the second half and pulled away from Occidental in the late going for a 93-76 nonconference victory.

Loyola Marymount fired men's basketball Coach Steve Aggers on Wednesday, less than a week after the Lions were eliminated in the first round of the West Coast Conference tournament. Aggers, 57, was let go after an 11-17 season that concluded Friday with a 91-79 loss to Pepperdine, his fourth losing season in five seasons as coach. Loyola finished in last place during WCC play and never finished higher than fifth in Aggers' tenure.

It's a milestone Rich Rider would have preferred to reach last season. But the Cal Lutheran coach will take it. As a credit to his program's stability. As a product of his players' dedication. Rider, in his seventh season, became Cal Lutheran's second-winningest basketball coach when the Kingsmen defeated La Sierra last week. Rider is 81-49, passing his predecessor, Mike Dunlap, who was 80-55 from 1989-94.

At first, only a handful of kids trickled out of the packed Ventura College bleachers. Then, when others realized what the first group was after, the avalanche was on. Their target was standing against a wall near the Pirate bench. That's what happens when you are Laker forward Cedric Ceballos on a visit to your former stomping grounds.

For Cal Lutheran's Rupert Sapwell, Wednesday night's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball game against La Verne was a chance for the Kingsmen to get some redemption. To Cal Lutheran Coach Mike Dunlap, it was simply one of 14 SCIAC games the Kingsmen will play this season. Either way, Cal Lutheran won, 87-73, to stay tied for first place in the SCIAC with Pomona-Pitzer, a 94-90 winner over Redlands. "It's always great to beat La Verne," Sapwell said.

The Cal Lutheran men's basketball team took a step into uncharted territory Thursday night with a 88-70 victory over Concordia in the championship game of its own tournament. Led by the second-half shooting of Damon Ridley (32 points) and Jason Smith (15), Cal Lutheran improved to 9-0, eclipsing its previous best start, an eight-game winning streak in 1983-84. The nine consecutive victories are also a school record.

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.

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.

No one, including Cal Lutheran Coach Mike Dunlap could have expected it. With 1 minute 46 seconds left in Saturday night's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball playoff game between the Kingsmen and Pomona-Pitzer, Dunlap had the luxury of emptying his bench as Cal Lutheran was on its way to an 83-62 victory at Occidental College.