PASADENA, Calif. (Nov. 24, 2021) – The pumpkin pie will taste a little sweeter and the cranberry sauce will have some more zing to it this year as Caltech men's basketball heads into the Thanksgiving break after picking up its first-ever win against a tough Whitman College squad on Wednesday night.

After some early back-and-forth scoring, the Beavers were able to pull ahead of the Blues and never allowed them to take the lead despite a threatening comeback in the second half.  Calm, composure, and unselfish play led to four different Caltech players racking up double figures in points and the Beavers' vastly superior rebounding was key to their success.

Caltech won the opening tip-off and senior Marcus Gee (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica) immediately put his team on the board with a jump shot on the opening possession. After Whitman tied it up on their first shot, fellow senior Noah Barnes (Springfield, Va. / Jefferson) drove in for a layup, and another layup by senior Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook) gave the Beavers a 6-2 lead before Whitman would tie things back up again at 6-6 after a sinking free throw and a three-pointer. The Beavers held a steady margin through the first few minutes.

Then, with just under six minutes played in the first half, freshman Jeb Brysacz (San Antonio, Texas / Alamo Heights) nailed a three to start building what would peak at a 16-point Beavers lead before heading into the halftime break up 45-34. Schneider's 18 points and the team's 57.6 field goal percentage in the half made for a much-needed cushion before the visitors would surge back into the game after the intermission.

Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger spoke highly of the opponent, noting their recent history of success not just in the West region but on a national scale.

"They're a very well-coached team and a challenge to coach against," Eslinger said.

With a heavy emphasis and efficiency on long-range shooting – the Blues attempted 37 three-point shots, connecting on 15 of them for a majority of their scoring – Whitman managed to outpace a more than capable Caltech squad's 10-for-26 performance in that column.

Whitman opened the second half with seven points in just over a minute to drastically shrink Caltech's lead to just four at 45-41, quickly drawing a timeout by the Beavers. Still, the Blues would tie it up for the last time at 54-54 with just under 13 minutes to go. The tie was short-lived, though, as senior Stephen Hei (Newcastle, Wash. / Liberty) scored a layup to retake the lead and the Beavers kept the intensity up and the nerves down to mount a key  14-2 run, ballooning their lead to 74-59 heading into the last two minutes.

Where the Beavers' field goal shooting dropped off in the second half, they made up for it with their 11-for-14 free throw shooting and out-rebounded the Blues 24 to 13 in the half. Nine of those rebounds belonged to Barnes, who finished with 10 boards and 14 points. Schneider also had a double-double with 10 boards and team highs of 23 points, as well as five assists. Hei totaled 16 points in the contest and Gee contributed 15 in the winning effort.. Eslinger remarked that it was a lot of fun to see those four playing with such connection and belief in one another as long-time teammates.

Eslinger and the Beavers resume play at home on Monday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. against the Bethesda (Calif.) University Flames.