Photo: Bob Paz

PASADENA (Jan. 15, 2020) – The Caltech men's basketball team returned to its winning ways behind another monstrous defensive performance, this time at California Lutheran University on Wednesday evening. The Beavers defeated the Kingsmen, 56-50.

Wednesday marked the second time this season the Beavers held an opponent to 50 points or less. The last time they managed to accomplish the feat happened back in November when they shut down Occidental College in the 110 Rivalry game. On this particular occasion, Caltech held Cal Lutheran to just 30 first-half points, setting the tone for a second-half where the Beavers succeeded in keeping the Kingsmen at a distance before a late offensive surge put the game away. Turnovers proved to an x-factor for the visitors, as Caltech won the turnover battle at a near 2:1 ratio while forcing the Cal Lutheran into 21 turnovers, 11 of which came off steals. Junior Marcus Gee (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica) led the visitors with four takeaways, while three more players had at least two.

"We wanted to make it our kind of defensive game," Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger said. "We progressed nicely into our defensive plan as the game continued."

As good as the Beavers looked defensively in the first half, they managed to buckle down even further in the second half where they held the Kingsmen to just 20 points. Although the host Kingsmen cut the deficit to just one point as late as 12 minutes into the final half, the Beavers embarked on an 8-2 run over the next five minutes to take the wind out of their sails. Five consecutive points from junior forward Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook) capped the run, and Schneider would go on to lead Caltech with 16 points on 50-percent shooting over just 23 minutes. The visitors also received a significant scoring contribution from Gee, who like his classmate shot 50-percent from the field en route to a 13-point night.

With the Beavers staked to a seven-point lead with just three minutes to go, the Kingsmen were unable to make up the difference. As a result, Caltech picked up its third SCIAC win of the season following a measured, stoic performance on the defensive side of the ball.

"We are very prepared and we've been able to get our minds right," Eslinger said. "The staff is doing a great job as far as making sure we are ready with scouts and equipment and timing."

Twelve different Caltech players saw minutes in Wednesday game, with each Beaver having a role to play on either the offensive or defensive end. Senior guard Alec Andrews (Folsom, Calif. / Folsom) provided the Beavers with nine points, while senior forward Aaron Ayres (Tucson, Ariz. / Catalina Foothills) and freshman guard Chase Pagon (Solana Beach, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian) came off the bench to give Caltech some significant minutes and while upping the level of physicality. Additionally, sophomore guard Stephen Hei (Newcastle, Wash. / Liberty) came off the bench to score seven points in 17 minutes in a game that quickly turned into a war of attrition. Wednesday also marks the first time Caltech has beaten Cal Lutheran since the 2015-16 season when the Beavers beat the Kingsmen twice and finished the season with seven conference wins.

"This game featured great contributions from everyone," Eslinger said. "We got some really good minutes from many guys and put the last game behind us before we took the court tonight. We know we can only play the teams in front of us, but it's always good to bounce back and progress."

Eslinger and the Beavers will look to keep the momentum rolling on Saturday, Jan. 18 when they travel to the University of Redlands for a 5 p.m. game.

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