PASADENA, Calif. (Dec. 30, 2022) – Caltech Men's Basketball wrapped up the calendar year in a Friday afternoon home game against the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

While Caltech last took to the hardwood on Dec. 19 in a nail-biter of a victory over Bethesda (Anaheim, Calif.), the visiting Raiders were playing their second game in three days, coming off a 79-59 loss to nearby Occidental College on Wednesday.

Both teams looked evenly-matched throughout the contest, with tied scores at 4-4 and 11-11 in the opening minutes. The Beavers would eventually pull ahead by seven points late in the first half as senior Kyle McGraw (Los Altos Hills, Calif. / The Nueva School) sunk a layup and followed with a three-pointer in the last seconds, sending his team to the locker room with a 36-31 halftime lead. McGraw ended up tallying 22 points in the game, 11 in each half of regulation play, along with five assists, six rebounds, a block and a steal.

Fellow senior Chase Pagon (Solana Beach, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian) highlighted with a season-high 28 points, completing the double-double performance with 10 rebounds and adding a trio of assists. Classmate Pavlos Stavrinides (Nicosia, Cyprus / The English School of Nicosia) also scored double figures with 17 points with six boards, three assists, a block and a steal.

Despite the heartbreaking double-overtime defeat, Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger expressed pride in his team's toughness individually and as a unit. "I'm really proud of their ability to come together and keep on keepin' on," Eslinger remarked after the game.

The Beavers return to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play on the road at University of Redlands on Jan. 4, 2023.