Photo: Bob Paz

PASADENA (Jan. 8, 2020) – The Caltech men's basketball team showed what it can do in the first half of Wednesday's Orange Out contest against SCIAC foe Whittier College.

The Beavers hit a series of pivotal shots over the first 20 minutes to stake them to a three-point lead going into halftime, and at one point led by as many as 11 points against the senior-laden Poets. Strong shooting from junior guard Marcus Gee (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica) keyed Caltech over this period, as he accounted for 15 of the Beavers' 44 first-half points while shooting 50-percent from the field over that span. He also connected on three of the home team's nine first-half three-pointers, as did sophomore guard Stephen Hei (Newcastle, Wash. / Liberty), who came off the bench to give Caltech 15 points overall. Junior forward Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook) led the Beavers with his second-consecutive 20 point game, leveraging easy looks into a plus 50-percent shooting night.

Caltech also received heavy contributions from senior guard Alec Andrews (Folsom, Calif. / Folsom) and freshman forward Pavlos Stavrinides (Nicosia, Cyprus / The English School of Nicosia). Andrews posted an unorthodox line of two points, nine rebounds and nine assists, nearly pulling off a rare double-double without the benefit of points. Stavrinides, meanwhile, keyed the Beavers on the offensive glass, an area in which his team excelled in outrebounding the Poets at a near 2:1 rate. The rookie also pitched in with 12 points and three blocks on the defensive end.

"Playing three games in five days can challenging," Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger said. "The effort level was there tonight and while it's unfortunate to not come away with the win, there is plenty of basketball left to be played. The key now will be to rest up and make sure we're prepared to face down our next challenge."

Eslinger and the Beavers will have a chance to move to 3-1 when they host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m.

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