WHITTIER, Calif. (Jan. 29, 2020) – A 104-point eruption put the Caltech men's basketball team over the top on Wednesday when the Beavers evened the season series with Whittier College.

The 104 points are the most the team has scored in its 12 years under Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger, and the 104-78 margin of victory is the program's highest against a SCIAC opponent. Additionally, the visiting Beavers broke the program's single-game field goals record with 42 made shots and the single-game assists record with 27. Caltech has also never had a game with seven different players reaching double-figures. The historic showing came as a result of a team effort which featured standouts such as senior guard Alec Andrews (Folsom, Calif. / Folsom), who picked up 11 assists without committing a single turnover and sophomore wing Stephen Hei (Newcastle, Wash. / Liberty), who scored his own number – 21 points – on just nine shot attempts in 20 minutes off the bench.

"For us, it's not about margin of victory," Eslinger said. "We put a lot of prep into this game and it showed with how locked in the guys were. It was all about them being confident and executing the gameplan. When you have a process-oriented approach like this, you do see the result but also note that it's only the result of how you spent every second on the court."

Caltech broke away from host Whittier over the final 10 minutes of the first half when the offense exploded for a 30-9 run. Over that stretch, six different Beavers scored baskets including all five starting players. Hei, who played the best game of his career in a Caltech uniform, keyed the dominant first 20 minutes with 16 points while junior guard Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook) managed 12 of his 15 points during this time frame. When the second half turned over, Hei showed his versatility by connecting on an alley-oop from Andrews on his final bucket in a play that gave Andrews his 11th assist of the game. The senior captain was masterful, posting a double-double with 12 points to go with his 11 assists in a somewhat rare feat for the Division III level. He also came five rebounds away from earning the first triple-double in the history of Caltech basketball.

"Every guy is doing his job," Eslinger said. "Alec is a tremendous point guard and when he's seeing the game in the way we know he can, he's able to make special kinds of decisions and plays. What we saw tonight was him stepping up to his role, but that goes for all the guys. Everyone who got in the game made the most of their time, and that's the mark of a true team."

As the game wore on, the Beavers continued to make shots and proved possession-by-possession that Wednesday night belonged to them. Supplemental scoring from the likes of freshman forward Pavlos Stavrinides (Nicosia, Cyprus / The English School of Nicosia), classmate Chase Pagon (Solana Beach, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian), junior Marcus Gee (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica) and sophomore Noah Barnes (Springfield, Va. / Jefferson) made for an unsolvable puzzle for the Poets. A concerted defensive effort from the likes of Barnes particularly prevented Whittier from getting going in the second half, as the second-year player had three steals and once again used defense to create offense. While there weren't too many to go around thanks to the offensive abundance, Caltech also managed to outrebound Whittier thanks to Stavrinides who led on the glass with seven boards.

With three minutes to go, Eslinger opted to give some of the team's younger players some playing time, and all three freshmen responded. Guards Kyle McGraw (Los Altos Hills, Calif. / The Nueva School) and Jack Pierson (Slayton, Minn. / Murray County Central), along with forward Ben Juarez (El Dorado Hills, Calif. / Oak Ridge) all registered their first points with the Beavers and made the most of the minutes they received.

"Tonight's game was a carry over of what we did this past weekend [at Chapman]," Eslinger said. "The guys are believing in what we're doing and there's a lot of confidence in the room. You can just tell these guys are believing and buying into the journey."

The victory moves Caltech to 5-4 in conference, giving the team sole possession of fourth-place in the standings. In search of their first SCIAC Postseason Tournament Berth, the Beavers are currently behind 7-2 co-leaders Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges as well as 6-3 Occidental College, a team Caltech has already beaten on two separate occasions this season. Ever since falling to the Sagehens on home court last week, the Beavers have responded with two of their best games in recent memory and will look to keep things rolling as the playoff push continues.

"We look at every game as a must-win," Eslinger said. "We also recognize we need to enjoy each opportunity as it comes. You can't worry too much about the result. We put together a complete game on Saturday night and had another one tonight. Now, we feel we have the confidence we need to know, 'this is what it feels like,' and now they have some true experiences that go along with what we're talking about."

Eslinger and the Beavers will look to further solidify their SCIAC Playoff chances when they go for the season sweep against the University of La Verne on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. on their home floor.

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