REDLANDS, Calif. – UC Santa Cruz used a strong scoring push at the start of the second half en route to a 79-64 win over Caltech during the first round of the Fulmer Tournament hosted by the University of Redlands.

On Friday afternoon Caltech (0-4) will face Southwestern (AZ) who lost to the host school 95-75 in the final game of the day. The eight-team, three-day event concludes on Saturday.

The Beavers grabbed momentum early on Thursday night. After Ryan Elmquist nailed a three-pointer with 10:48 left, Caltech held a 21-13 lead. UC Santa Cruz (4-4) came back with a scoring spurt of their own to tie the score at 27-27 with 6:05 left until halftime. Caltech continued to hold their first half advantage until Ryan Matsuoka gave the Banana Slugs the halftime lead when he nailed a jumper with one second remaining. UC Santa Cruz went into the locker room with a 36-34 lead.

After the two squads traded field goals to start the second half the Banana Slugs began to creep ahead.  With the score knotted at 38-38 with 17:25 remaining, UC Santa Cruz nudged forward by scoring 16 of the game's next 20 points in taking a 54-42 lead with 12:30 left.

UC Santa Cruz pushed their lead and when a Brent Jacobs three-pointer gave the Banana Slugs a 68-54 advantage with 6:37 left in the game Caltech mounted one final charge.  Todd Cramer knocked down a three-pointer with 4:11 left to cut the Beavers deficit to 70-62 but it was as close as Caltech would get down the stretch.

Three starters led the Beavers scoring efforts. Mike Edwards went 7-for-12 from the field en route to an 18-point evening. Elmquist also recorded 18 points to tie for team high honors. The senior also contributed a game-high three block shots. Mike Paluchniak notched a 13-point night to round out the double figures scores for the Beavers.

Caltech tied a season high with seven made three-pointers.