The Beavers played a nearly even second half as they hosted the Oberlin Yeomen Wednesday evening in Braun Gymnasium. Although the guests took a 35-19 lead into halftime and saw the gap widen to as much as 22, the hometown team pulled to within striking distance during the second 20 minutes with a determined defensive effort.

After an 8-8 tie in the initial minutes of the game, Oberlin went on a 10-0 run until a lay-up by senior captain Matt Dellatorre stopped the damage.  However, Oberlin extended its lead to 34-15 at the 2:29 mark on a Mike Loll (21 points and seven rebounds) lay-up before Caltech closed the margin with another shot and two more free throws by Dellatorre.

The second stanza opened with a three by Oberlin's Jordan Beard (22 points) and another guest lay-in. Loll scored two more with 14:20 remaining prior to the Beavers' late push. Thanks to tough defense and clutch free throw shooting, Caltech chipped away at the Oberlin lead to make it 55-42 with just over 11 minutes left. A well timed Yeomen three-pointer disabled the comeback and the teams traded points the rest of the way.

Dellatorre continued his fabulous play with 21 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Senior captain Travis Haussler had his finest outing of the season as he scored 22, hauled in eight boards, blocked three shots, and also recorded two steals. Sophomore Ryan Elmquist had a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with three blocks.

Despite shooting 23 percent in the first half, Caltech became more aggressive after the break and converted 12-23 field goals in addition to 12-15 from the charity stripe. For the game, the Beavers were 18-22 from the line (82 percent).

Caltech heads to Occidental College on Friday to take on Whitworth in the Caltech-Oxy Classic. Game time is 2:30.