CMS used a complete team game to overcome a dynamic two-man effort by Cal Lutheran and win 60-54 in the semifinals of the SCIAC Tournament.  CMS improved to 20-6 overall and will host their cross-street rivals Pomona-Pitzer, who defeated Whittier in the other semifinal, at 7:30 on Saturday night.  Cal Lutheran finished the season 18-8.

Eleven Stags saw action in the game with eight players scoring for CMS.  Cal Lutheran countered with a six-man rotation with two players scoring 48 of their points.  Chris Blees (SO, Carmichael) led the Stags with 14 points and nine rebounds.  Jason Toney (JR, Yorba Linda) added 12 points and five assists and Conner Faught (JR, Agoura Hills [pictured]) had 11 points including a huge three pointer late in the game.  Kyle Knudsen and Aaron Fisher brought the Kingsmen back in the second half as Knudsen had 22 of his 29 points in the second stanza while Fisher added 19 points and 13 rebounds in the game.

The Stags used an 18-4 run in the first half to build up a 14-point lead that they would eventually stretch to 15 points.  CMS was seven for 10 during the run while Cal Lutheran was two for 12.  The Stags cooled off and missed five shots in the last three minutes and the Kingsmen countered with a three-pointer and a couple of free throws to make the halftime score 28-18.  The trend continued into the second half as Cal Lutheran went five for seven while CMS was two for eight during a 15-5 Kingsmen run.  The teams traded leads over the course of the next 10 minutes with six lead changes and three ties.  Neither team led by more than three until Aaron Van Klaveren scored his only basket of the game, was fouled and made the free throw to give Cal Lutheran a four-point lead with just over four minutes remaining. 

CMS responded with a 9-0 run with all five players on the floor contributing.  Patrick Lacey (SO, Orangevale) made two free throws to start it and then, after the teams traded misses, Faught drew an offensive foul.  At the other end, Austin Soldner (SR, Southlake, TX) drew a double-team and kicked it out to Faught for a three-pointer that gave CMS a lead it would not relinquish.  Faught stole the ball on the next possession and Toney fed Blees for a layup on the fast break.  The Stags hit nine of 10 from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the win.

The tournament final is a rematch of last year's inaugural tournament when third-seeded Pomona-Pitzer hosted the fourth-seeded Stags.  CMS is the top seed this season while Pomona-Pitzer is again the third seed.  The winner of tomorrow's game will earn the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.