Late Bucket Lifts CLU

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif- With the score tied at 50-50 and the second half clock winding down, Jayvaughn Nettles muscled his way past a defender and hit a runner from the top of the key with just .07 second left, giving Cal Lutheran a 52-50 lead over the Afghanistan National Team. The ANT would try a desperation cross-court pass but Martin Flowers was able to knock the ball out of bounds and give CLU the exhibition win 52-50, Sunday evening in Gilbert Arena.

The Kingsmen were behind 21-22 in the later stages of the first half before Nettles hit two threes down the stretch to give CLU the lead going into halftime at 27-22.

Cal Lutheran maintained the lead for most of the second half until Safi Mojaddidi hit three straight three-pointers and cut the lead to just two with 1:53 left to play.

CLU responded as Guy Lynott drove to the basket, drawing the foul. The freshman would sink both free throws to put CLU up 50-46.

The ANT countered with buckets from Billal Azizi on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 50-50 with 1:07 left on the clock.

The Kingsmen drove down court and got an open shot but couldn’t convert, allowing the ANT a fast-break. Isaiah Moore tried a jumper from just inside the arc but missed and Andrew Atakpo pulled down a crucial defensive rebound.

Coach Rich Rider elected not to call a time-out and instead left time for one more offensive possession. Point guard Steven Davis brought the ball up with 14 seconds and struggled to find an open man until finally finding Nettles just outside of the three-point line. Nettles waited for the paint to clear out, took two dribbles to his left and threw up a runner than found the net for the game-winner.

Nettles led all scorers with 15 points. The senior forward also led CLU in rebounds with 8. Jeremy Sulker-Hall finished with ten points and Flowers finished with seven.

Collin Knudsen led the Kingsmen with three assists.

The ANT was led by Mojaddidi’s 11 points and Azizi chipped in with eight.

The Kingsmen now kick-off their 2012 regular season schedule when they host Bethesda next Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7:30 p.m in Gilbert Arena.