Photo by Haruna Tomono, Caltech Yearbook

 

PASADENA, Calif. (Jan. 19, 2022) - Meeting the intensity of the moment and having come off two tough conference defeats, the Caltech men's basketball program hosted the California Lutheran University Kingsmen on Wednesday night inside the Braun Athletic Center. The Beavers played aggressively and had three players reach double figures on the evening, but it wasn't enough as they fell 81-64 and are now 8-6 (2-3 SCIAC) on the season.

 

The Beavers first half started promisingly as they handled the stifling Cal Lutheran press comfortably and were able to get the ball into their offensive end, scoring often early, especially from beyond the three-point line. When senior Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook) drained his second three of the game with 3:30 gone, the Beavers led 8-4 and seemed poised to move the basketball and find an open scorer, moving the ball inside out. For the game, Schneider would tie for the lead in scoring with 18 points along with junior guard Kyle McGraw (Los Altos Hills, Calif. / The Nueva School). McGraw surpassed Schneider's sharpshooting in the first half, pouring in four three-pointers on five attempts in the first frame alone. As a team, the Beavers connected on 7-15 three-point shots before intermission.

 

Senior Marcus Gee (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica) also had a solid offensive effort in spite of being double teamed each time he touched the ball, contributing 13 hard-earned points. While senior Noah Barnes (Springfield, Va. / Jefferson) did not score in the first half, his ability to handle the ball and get the team into an offensive rhythm was critical and led to him dishing out six assists in the first 20 minutes, with eight total for the game.

 

"Our team's mental preparation was outstanding, and we were ready for the intensity that they brought," Head Coach Oliver Eslinger said. "We played with ultimate competitiveness and while we had a few missed chances, overall, I thought we played well, especially in the first half."

 

At the end of the first half, the Beavers trailed the Kingsmen 38-35, but stayed close by outshooting the visitors in both field goal and three-point field goal percentage. The Beavers also got back to their successful practice of sharing the basketball, as they assisted on 10 of their 12 made baskets in the opening frame.

 

Having possession of the basketball to start the second half, the Beavers were within one possession of Cal Lutheran and quickly tied the game at 38 with 19:36 remaining on a triple by Barnes.  For the next several minutes the two teams stayed close, but Cal Lutheran opened up a 10-point lead with just under 5 minutes gone in the second half, building their lead to 19 at one point in the contest.  The Beaver's shooting percentage fell significantly in the final 20 minutes, as they struggled to keep up with the unrelenting pace of Cal Lutheran. "Having played three games within the last week, has limited our practice time," stated Eslinger. "As a coach you never want to use that as an excuse, but I truly believe we benefit when we have more time to prepare for each of our opponents."

 

The disparity in free throws attempted and made also played a role in Wednesday night's final result. While Caltech made 11 of its 14 chances from the charity stripe (78.6 percent), Cal Lutheran ended the evening making 25 of 31 free throws, for 80.6 percent. The Beavers also lost the turnover battle, committing 18 to 12 for their opponents; perhaps even more telling was the fact that the Kingsmen converted many of the Caltech ballhandling errors into points, outscoring Caltech 25-7 in points off turnovers.

 

"This is a great group to work with," stated Eslinger. "They are always ready to get better and want to for each other and the team."

 

The Beavers get their next chance to level their conference record at 3-3 when they take on the Chapman University Panthers on Saturday, Jan. 22 in Orange, Calif. The game can be live streamed at GoCaltech.com.