Photo by: Haruna Tomono, Caltech Yearbook

PASADENA, Calif. (Jan. 29, 2022) – The men's basketball Beavers wrapped up the first half of their 2021-22 SCIAC campaign with a dominant 74-61 victory Saturday against the University of La Verne. 

Caltech wasted no time in setting the tone for the day, jumping out to an early 7-0 lead on a layup by junior Pavlos Stavrinides (Nicosia, Cyprus / The English School of Nicosia), a three-pointer by senior Marcus Gee (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica) and a layup by senior Noah Barnes (Springfield, Va. / Jefferson), quickly drawing a timeout by the Leopards just over two and a half minutes into the contest. A short while later, consecutive threes by senior Stephen Hei (Newcastle, Wash. / Liberty) and Barnes made it a 16-3 game with just over six minutes played.  

"We moved the ball well, and we had a lot of improvement over previous games," Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger remarked. "There were a lot of bright spots for us in the first half. I really liked our aggressiveness."  

That aggressiveness paid off with 41.7 percent field goal shooting in the first half against 26.1 percent for the Leopards, resulting in a 40-19 score after the opening half. Caltech ballooned that margin into a massive 26-point lead just under three minutes after halftime. The Beavers absolutely dominated the game in ball control, grabbing 56 rebounds to La Verne's 25, capitalizing on their 22 offensive boards for 22 second-chance points.  

Eslinger especially highlighted the efficiency of Barnes, who racked up a team-high 17 points in 20 minutes on the floor, including four three-pointers from beyond the arc and one the old-fashioned way with a good free throw after drawing a foul on a successful layup. He further picked up six rebounds, assisted on three field goals and blocked one shot. 

Hei played a similarly strong game, coming off the bench to tally 14 points in his 19 minutes, including four three-pointers, along with four boards, one assist and two steals. Junior Chase Pagon (Solana Beach, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian) helped keep the ball in the Beavers' hands with 10 boards, including a game-high five offensive rebounds, adding two assists and two steals. 

Senior Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook) earned his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, and Gee was the fourth Beaver scoring in double figures with 11 points, three assists, a block and a steal. 

Caltech has one day off and then will face these same Leopards in a nonconference makeup game from an earlier postponed matchup on Monday, Jan. 31 on the road.