PASADENA (Feb. 17, 2020) – A wide array of contributions lifted the Caltech men's basketball team to a tight home win over California Lutheran University on Wednesday night.

The victory's historical significance harkens back to the 2015-16 season in several ways. Wednesday night marked the Beavers' first sweep of Cal Lutheran since the historic season four years ago, and the victorious effort ties the 2019-20 Beavers for the most SCIAC wins in program history, a record originally set by the '15-'16 squad.

The Beavers received a stiff test from the Kingsmen, however, who gave them all they could handle down the stretch. A series of dramatic shots allowed Cal Lutheran to tie the game at 61 with 13 seconds to go, but a flagrant foul on the ensuing inbound sent senior Alec Andrews (Folsom, Calif. / Folsom) to the line where he converted on both free throws before the Beavers took back immediate possession. Junior Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook) scored the game's final point, and a relentless defensive pressure forced the Kingsmen into making a mistake on their final possession, unable to attempt a game-tying shot.

"Tonight was a solid defensive effort all around," Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger said. "I thought we did what we needed to do and despite not having our best shooting night from the perimeter, we did make a lot of two's, made just enough free throws and made enough basketball plays. We won 50-50 balls and turned those into points. Sometimes, that's what basketball comes down to."

Senior guard Bret Johnson (Carlsbad, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian) led a long list of Caltech standouts who came off the bench. Johnson made three of his four three-point field goal attempts and led the Beavers with 12 points. His only basket that did not come from deep came on a successful "and one" that fired up the crowd and fueled Caltech through the second half. Senior Aaron Ayres (Tucson, Ariz. / Catalina Foothills) followed up Johnson's point-after with a similar opportunity of his own, one that helped spur the Beavers to lead by as many as 14 points in the second half. Elsewhere, freshman Chase Pagon (Solana Beach, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian) finished the game with 11 points off the bench to go with five rebounds. The extra effort allowed the Beavers to win a game with few drastic statistical advantages in favor of the home team, but the 27 bench points are a season-high in games where Caltech scores 80 points or less. Junior Marcus Gee (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica), meanwhile, took on a slightly different role in Wednesday's after finding himself in some early foul trouble, finding his teammates for four assists while Andrews added eight of his own.

"We were enthused to see Bret come in and shoot the ball extraordinarily well and come up with some other huge plays," Eslinger said. "Calvin [Huh], Riley [O'Neil] and Ethan [Eason] made the most of their minutes and Chase, Aaron and Mike also made a series of big plays for us. Our reinforcements really stepped up, particularly with the adversity we faced as far as guys not being able to play and guys getting into some early foul trouble. We got through it with a full team effort."

The victory not only ties this year's team with '15-16 squad that finished 7-9 against SCIAC teams but also sets them up for continued success heading into the season's final two games. One more victory will afford the '19-20 Beavers the top spot in terms of SCIAC wins, and two victories will give them a winning season in conference play. The men's basketball team's last SCIAC winning season came in 1953-54 during the historic SCIAC Championship run, albeit during a time in which the conference had significantly fewer teams than the nine-team structure known today.

"We talk about doing it for each other and doing it for the program," Eslinger said. "We talk about leaving a legacy. To do that, we knew we needed to come into tonight's game extra focused to give us a chance at a winning SCIAC record and do something no one has done and nobody expected. That's part of why guys like to play here, and they definitely feel it. Whatever happens, they are their legacy."

Eslinger and the Beavers will look to make it two-straight wins when they host Chapman University for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.

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