THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran men's basketball made its unofficial home debut on Sunday afternoon with a 61-58 victory in an exhibition meeting with the Afghanistan National Team.

Box Score: CLU 61, ANT 58 - F

Michael Palmer got off to a hot start scoring all of his 15 points in the first half of play. Cal Lutheran led by as many as 12 with under five minutes remaining until intermission. 

Afghanistan closed out the period on a 13-3 scoring run capped off by a buzzer beating three pointer from J.R. Stephens. He came off the bench and contributed all 13 of his points in 15 first half minutes.

Cal Lutheran watched its lead slipped away in light of 15 first half fouls called sending Afghanistan to the charity stripe 16 times. The visiting side knocked down only 8-of-16 first half free throws and finished just 12-of-23 overall. It would end up being a deciding factor in the outcome of Sunday's contests. 

After not trailing the entire first half the Kingsmen found themselves trailing throughout a majority of the second. Foul trouble plagued Cal Lutheran as Aaron Van Klaveren, Mike Harris and Henry Leff rotated floor time in hopes of not fouling out down the stretch.

Trailing 56-47 with just under six minutes left in regulation, it would be Van Klaveren amongst others sparking a CLU comeback. From that point on the senior grabbed five rebounds, had two put-back layups and assisted on the go-ahead three pointer by Xavier Walton with 42 seconds left. Van Klaveren finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. 

Jayvaughn Nettles played 15 second half minutes scoring nine points in limited action. He knocked down two clutch free throws pushing a one-point cushion back to three with 15 ticks remaining in regulation.

Freshman Mike Harris scored 11 points and grabbed nine boards. He led the team with three assists and 37 minutes of action. 

Mostafa Asefi led Afghanistan with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the floor. Stephens led all players with six steals and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field.

Cal Lutheran will play one more exhibition contest before starting its regular season schedule. The Kingsmen will travel to UC Riverside on Friday, Nov. 11.