PASADENA, Calif. (Dec. 13, 2021) – The highly anticipated men's basketball rematch with University of California, Santa Cruz could not have gone much better for the Beavers, who attacked efficiently and defended aggressively to exact revenge on the Banana Slugs by a resounding score of 70-48 to win their fifth game in a row.

Caltech scored first and never trailed in the game, only allowing the Banana Slugs to tie the score twice. Junior Pavlos Stavrinides (Nicosia, Cyprus / The English School of Nicosia) sunk three layups in the opening nine minutes, establishing all three of the Beavers' leads. His effective performance led to eight points on 57 percent shooting, and he also grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots.

Senior Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook) was instrumental in keeping the game out of reach for UCSC, as he confidently racked up nine points in the first half on the way to a 13-point game, adding six boards and five assists. Fellow starter Marcus Gee (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica) dished a team-high six assists and grabbed four boards in his 10-point afternoon.

Most notable was an explosive performance from the Caltech bench, who accounted for 36 of the team's 70 points. A thrilling three-minute span in the second half saw the Beavers splash five three-pointers. The 15-4 run ballooned the lead to 54-38 thanks to Gee and junior Kyle McGraw (Los Altos Hills, Calif. / The Nueva School), who hit three triples on three consecutive attempts, bringing the raucous crowd to their feet and drawing a timeout by the Slugs. McGraw finished as the game's top scorer with 15 points and tied for the team's top rebounder with seven in a true breakout performance.

Also coming off the bench to dominate was junior Chase Pagon (Solana Beach, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian) who shot five-for-six from the field for 10 points and picked up seven rebounds, two assists and a team-high two steals.

Apart from all the offense totals, Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger highlighted the defense as a key component of the victory.

"Santa Cruz is a physical team," he said. "We were ready for that this time around. Our guys responded and it was really, really pleasant to see."

Dr. Eslinger further pointed out how Caltech held the Slugs to just 29.3 percent shooting from the field, and only 18 points in the paint compared to the Beavers' 30.

The Beavers look to extend their winning streak to six games for the first time since 1943-44 on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 2:00 p.m. against Knox College.