PASADENA, Calif.  (Feb. 16, 2022) - In a battle for fifth place in the SCIAC standings, with both teams looking to Improve their seeding for the upcoming eight-team SCIAC Postseason Tournament, Caltech defeated the University of Redlands Bulldogs on Wednesday evening, 61-53, to notch the program's first-ever season sweep of the Bulldogs.

 

Facing full-court pressure the entire evening, the Beavers did well to get the ball into the front court and into their half-court offense in spite of 16 turnovers. Defensively, Caltech was equally challenging for Redlands as the Beavers held the Bulldogs to 35.7 percent shooting on the night while holding them to nearly 22 fewer points than their scoring average in SCIAC games of 74.9 points this season.

 

"I was really impressed by our team defense," Head Coach Oliver Eslinger said. "Our rebounding advantage of plus-14 was critical; we emphasized this leading into the game. We know that they like to play fast and score a ton of points. We're proud that we didn't let them."

 

The Beavers were led offensively by three seniors. Marcus Gee (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica) tallied 23 points, followed by Noah Barnes (Springfield, Va, / Jefferson) with 11 and Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook) who scored 10. Their combined 44 points represented 72 percent of the team's offensive output on the night. Gee's recent scoring surge has him within range of the all-time program record for career points.

 

"The guys were locked in tonight," added Eslinger. "Everyone was ready to play."

 

The first half started quickly for the home team as Gee stuffed the scorebook early on, scoring a trio of three-point baskets in the first seven minutes, with Schneider also knocking down a triple to push the Beavers lead to 14-2. A mini burst by the Bulldogs got them back within five at 14-9 and with eight minutes remaining in the half, Redlands got the score within a basket only to see the Beavers score five unanswered points to open up a 25-18 lead. Each time Redlands got the score within one possession, the Beavers would increase the margin and extended their lead at halftime to 33-26.

 

The second half started with a Redlands possession. The ensuing steal by Gee, one of a season-high 10 by the Beavers on the night, was not converted to points, though, as the Beavers were stuck on 33 for nearly the first four minutes of the second half until junior Pavlos Stavrinides (Nicosia, Cyprus / The English School of Nicosia) converted a tip-in to extend the lead to 35-30.

 

With 13:40 remaining, Redlands had gotten the game to within one possession, trailing the Beavers 40-37. But no sooner than Redlands had put itself back within a chance to tie with a stop and made basket, the Beavers extended their lead once more and got to get back to within a six-point margin fairly quickly.

 

With just over a minute remaining in the contest, Caltech still led Redlands 55-51. After several made free throws coming down the stretch, the Beavers were able to extend their lead to the final margin of eight and increase their grip on the fifth seed in the postseason, as well as maintaining their mathematical possibility of stealing the fourth should they win out while California Lutheran University loses its remaining games.