The second day of the Caltech-Oxy Thanksgiving Classic showcased a hard-fought battle between UC Santa Cruz and Caltech in Braun Gymnasium. During the second stanza, the hometown Beavers outscored the Banana Slugs 30-22 and held the visitors to 21 percent shooting from the field (5-24), but were not able to close to fewer than 16.

UCSC took a 23-point lead into halftime after Caltech only connected on three field goals and used a flurry of steals to score 17 points off of turnovers. Caltech, however, only gave it away eight times in the next 20 minutes while the team forced 10. The Beavers' aggressiveness and ability to get the ball inside kept them in the game.

After the Slugs went up 26 (44-18) on a free throw, the Beavers went on a 14-4 run sparked by six points from Travis Haussler, and four each by Matt Dellatorre and Ryan Elmquist. The visitors saw their lead get back to 20 three more times, but the home squad was still able to hang in there with outstanding half court defense. After a quick layup by the Slugs to open the second half, the Beavers held them without a field goal for 10 minutes.

Haussler recorded the first double-double for Caltech this season with 10 points and 10 boards to go along with four blocked shots and three steals. Dellatorre contributed 20 points and a perfect outing at the free throw line (6 for 6).

The Beavers are off until Saturday, December 13 when they will take on Chapman University at home at 7:30pm.