In addition to Gee's fantastic effort, fellow seniors Noah Barnes (Springfield, Va. / Jefferson) and Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook) were equally integral in the winning effort, tallying 11 and 18 points respectively, with the lion's share coming in the second half when Knox double-teamed Gee to create opportunities for other Beavers to get to the rim.

 

"I am very proud of our team, especially the seniors," Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger said. "To be able to win seven of our first 10 games is, in the modern era, the best start ever for a Caltech men's basketball team. Perhaps even better are the ways in which we have won against a variety of talented opponents who play the game in a lot of different styles, including Knox today."

 

The Beavers narrowly outshot Knox 44-41 percent but took 19 more three-point attempts than the visitors, knocking down nine to the Prairie Fire's three. Once again, Caltech was generous in sharing the ball with teammates that led to buckets, contributing 15 assists on the afternoon on 24 made field goals. The home team was also terrific on the boards, out rebounding the Prairie Fire of Galesburg, Ill. 37 to 31.

 

For all the positives on the afternoon, the Beavers lost junior center Pavlos Stavrinides (Nicosia, Cyprus / English School of Nicosia) to injury just 17 seconds into action. While it remains to be seen how quickly he'll be able to get back on the court, in Caltech's next-player-up mindset, junior Chase Pagon (Solana Beach, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian) and freshman Riley Wood (Richmond, Va. / St. Christopher's School) embraced the opportunity for minutes to combine for 11 points and 11 rebounds on the afternoon. As the calendar clicks forward in a couple of short weeks and SCIAC play intensifies, there is no doubt the team will benefit from the depth and versatility of their roster.

 

Stavrinides' early departure set a tense tone in the early going, with neither team giving any ground until the final minutes of the first half. Knox's four-point lead at 12:00 was the largest of the half until Gee found his groove, knocking down three consecutive three-point attempts to break the game open at 31-23 with just over a minute remaining. Pagon chipped in a layup with 45 seconds to go for a 10-point edge before Knox hit its first bucket since the 5:26 mark to head into halftime down eight.

 

The Prairie Fire pulled back within four on multiple occasions as the second half got underway and finally made it a one-possession game again at 51-49 with 7:07 on the clock. Pagon matched that basket to set Schneider up for a critical old-school three-point play a minute later to stretch the Beavers back ahead by five and another five minutes of lockdown defense put the game away from there, with crisp offensive play leading to a few more scores and the final 15-point margin.

 

The team's overall grit at both ends of the floor has been on display during the course of its winning streak. That streak will be tested on Saturday afternoon when the Beavers travel to the University of California, San Diego and take on the Division I Tritons in an afternoon contest that begins at 4 p.m. on the UCSD campus.

 

"We greatly value the high academic nature of UCSD and have scrimmaged them in their fantastic arena when they were a DII program," Eslinger said. "We know they love to shoot and pass so we anticipate that there will be a lot of three-pointers taken on the afternoon."

 

The Beavers return to action at home on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 when they host SCIAC rival Occidental College in an afternoon matchup that begins at 2 p.m.