CLU BEAT KINGMEN REGAIN THEIR CONFIDENCE CLU OVERCOMES SLOW START.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - Believing proved just as important as skills.

The only thing the Cal Lutheran men's basketball team added to its repertoire while going from a 1-5 start in conference to two weeks without a loss is the belief that it can win, according to Kingsmen coach Rich Rider.

CLU entered Wednesday's game at Caltech - the only team CLU beat during the first six games of Southern California Intercollegiate Conference play - having won four consecutive games and reaching the .500 mark in conference for the first time this season.

``No major changes,'' Rider said. ``We just got out of the gate a little slow and lost some confidence. We're starting to feel like ourselves again.

``It's a very fragile thing. We lost confidence in what we wanted to do. We started to go out trying not to lose instead of trying to win. When you play like that, you aren't as aggressive, you don't try certain things. We got ourselves into that trap. We finally broke that when we beat La Verne.''

Danny Sweeney hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Kingsmen a one-point victory against La Verne on Feb. 2 to start the winning streak. Saturday's win against Occidental was another one-point game decided in the final seconds. Pastor Cuenca's coast-to-coast layup with three seconds remaining gave CLU a 67-66 victory.

--No place like home: Of the Kingsmen's first five SCIAC wins, four of them came at home and Rider doesn't think it is a coincidence. CLU won just one road game all of last season.

``We feel comfortable at home,'' Rider said. ``We're starting to learn to play on the road.''

The good news for the Kingsmen is that two of their final three games are at home, including Saturday against Claremont and Monday against defending SCIAC champion Pomona-Pitzer.

--Perfection not required: CLU's women's basketball team ended a string of 10 consecutive wins when it lost its first SCIAC game last week, 64-61 at Redlands.

The Regals (16-6, 9-1) quickly returned to winning, though, and clinched at least a share of the conference championship by beating La Verne 82-47 on Tuesday. It is CLU's third straight title and fifth in six years.

--So close: The first three games were good for padding stats and giving everyone a chance to play. Tuesday's game was a chance to see how the Kingsmen baseball team compares to other nationally ranked programs.

No. 9 CLU lost to No. 3 Chapman, but the 2-1 score and the fact that his team came so close to winning left Kingsmen coach Marty Slimak confident, although a bit frustrated.

Both teams scored early and the rest of the game turned into a pitching duel

(CLU's Jim Harrison pitched a complete game and struck out seven). The Kingsmen had the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position in the ninth inning, but the game ended with batter's interference providing the final out.

The nonconference contest marked the first game this season CLU (3-1) did not score at least 15 runs and the first in which an opponent scored more than one.

``We're pretty disappointed,'' Slimak said. ``I think we could have beat them. I think we're better than them.''

Rain postponed Wednesday's rematch at CLU until today.

Saturday's doubleheader against Claremont was also rained out, but the Kingsmen were able to get in the first game of the series a day earlier and opened SCIAC play with a 15-1 victory. Tom Canale improved to 2-0 by striking out eight in six innings. Tom Galante and Jim Stout both hit three-run homers.

CLU resumes SCIAC play Friday at Caltech, the first of a three-game series.

--Maybe conference will be kinder: The Regals softball team's doubleheader against Cal Baptist was postponed from Saturday until Monday because of rain, but the extra time did not help CLU.

The Regals (0-4) were swept 5-0, 7-0 and a single by Jennifer Lemons was their only hit in the first game.

The team that entered the season with hopes of contending for a SCIAC title has yet to win a game. Friday's doubleheader against Biola is CLU's final tuneup before conference starts Saturday with a doubleheader at home against Whittier.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo: (color) CLU's Eric Medina and his teammates, frustrated by Tuesday's loss to Chapman, face Caltech on Friday.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer