PASADENA, Calif. (Feb. 21, 2022) - Caltech men's basketball celebrated five seniors on Monday evening in their incredible battle with the Chapman University Panthers. Among them, Marcus Gee (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica) picked the perfect opportunity to become Caltech's all-time leading scorer, netting 28 on the evening to blow past the mark at 1,596, with the SCIAC Postseason Tournament still to be played starting Wednesday. The limited-capacity crowd was exhuberant with the seniors being celebrated, Gee setting a new standard and the final-possession finish that saw Caltech's buzzer-beating shot just graze off the rim as time expired with the Beavers coming up a point short on the night, 66-65.

In a meaningful and poignant pre-game acknowledgement, Caltech's group of five graduating seniors included Noah Barnes (Springfield, Va. / Jefferson), Gee, Ethan Eason (Mercer Island, Wash. / Mercer Island), Stephen Hei (Newsastle, Wash. / Liberty) and Spencer Schneider (Houston, Texas / Clearbrook). While a brief bio about the players was being announced, the players and family members were greeted at center court by Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger and the President of the California Institute of Technology, Dr.  Thomas F. Rosenbaum. 

 

"I truly love this group," Eslinger said. "Each of them has simply been a great guy to coach. They each step up when their best is needed, and they have risen to meet the needs of the team. This week, we asked the players to come out to practice with a different mindset and they have been so focused during our preparation. It was also great to have a full building. Tonight, it was simply a great performance against a great team."

With all five seniors in the starting lineup, Caltech looked to finish the conference regular season on a high note against a team in second place in the standings. Gee started on fire, scoring seven of the Beavers' first 10  points and pushing Caltech in front, 10-7, four minutes in. The game was played at a high level throughout, with the officials allowing the teams to play and the energy in the gym lifted the atmosphere in tandem with the energy displayed on the court.   

 

As the teams traded defensive stops and made shots, two consecutive threes by Barnes at 11:43 and 10:47 gave Caltech a two-point lead at 18-16. When Gee followed with a three of his own, Caltech led 21-16. Chapman answered with a three of its own, but then both teams battled with empty possessions that kept the score within a proximate bandwidth. With 8:30 remaining in the first half, junior center Pavlos Stavrinides (Nicosia, Cyprus / The English School of Nicosia) scored an inside bucket that pushed the Beavers lead to 23-19. Stout defense by the Beavers and Panthers was on display throughout the contest. Due to a few empty possessions, Caltech saw Chapman retake the lead at 29-27 with just over four minutes to play in the opening half.

Stavrinides, playing inspired basketball, had a terrific first half that continued to improve as time wore on. Down 36-31 with under a minute remaining, he collected his own miss and finished the put-back while getting fouled, making the score 36-33, though he was unable to convert the traditional three-point play. Chapman went too fast in a possession that could have taken the game clock much closer to no time remaining, but when the Beavers grabbed the rebound and raced into the front court, it was an open, and trailing the play, Stavrinides who drained the game-tying triple as the buzzer sounded. The teams headed off to their respective locker rooms tied at 36 with the crowd on its feet and Stavrinides pumped alongside his teammates.

 

"Pavlos was just outstanding tonight," Eslinger said.

 

The second half started where the first half ended, with both teams unwilling to yield on defense while continuing to play aggressively. With no one in foul trouble, the teams relished the flow of the game and the opportunity to set firm screens while being able to body up on defense. On one play early in the second half, Stavrinides demonstrated his drive and commitment to the team when he jumped repeatedly for an loose rebound that made it look as though he was attached to a pogo stick as he tried to corral the offensive board.    

Almost four minutes into the second half, Schneider gathered the basketball, and his bearings, to go strong to the basket and make a tough goal after having his first shot blocked. This got the Beavers closer, with four minutes gone in the second half and Chapman leading just 39-38. That was when the highlight of the night hit; with 14:55 remaining in the contest, a second-chance pull-up three-point basket by Gee gave the Beavers a four-point lead at 43-39, making him the all-time scoring leader for men's basketetball at Caltech. He surpassed the mark set by Mike "Money Edwards from 2009-2013, which also was accrued over the maximum 100 available regular season games.

After a few missed opportunities for both sides and with the clock churning close to 9:30 remaining, Gee hit another three to push the Caltech lead to 51-46. Moments later, Schneider rebounded a missed Gee floater, but made the put back and was fouled, leading him to an opportunity at a a three-point play. While he missed the free throw, Caltech was still leading 53-49. With time winding down in the second half, Barnes drove and converted on a layup off the glass. Gee also continued to launch three pointers, making one at 7:43 and another with 6:02 remaining.

When Barnes made another driving layup with 5:10 remaining in the contest, the Beavers held a 61-54 lead and looked as though they were poised to close out the higher-ranked opponent. However, empty possesions and missed open looks at threes by the Beavers allowed Chapman to get back into the game, eventually taking a one-point lead at 62-61 with 2:10 remaining. WIth 1:51 left, Gee drove to the basket and laid the ball in off of the window, surging the Beavers back in front, 63-62.

After a scramble play with the shot clock winding down, Chapman drained a two from the elbow. When the Panthers scored on a put-back with 20 seconds remaining, it gave them a 66-63 lead. On the ensuing Beavers' possession, Gee was fouled and made both ends of the one-and-on to make the score 66-65 in favor of Chapman.

 

After Gee's made free throws and lengthy conversations with each coach and his team, Chapman was fouled by Barnes after the Beavers attempted to get the steal off of the inbound pass. The ensuing one-and-one was missed, allowing the Beavers to gather the rebound and get the ball into the front court where they quickly asked for a timeout with five seconds remaining. On the inbound play, Chapman did a great job of keeping the ball out of Gee's hands and smothering him once it did arrive, so it was Schneider attempting an off-balanece long-range jumper for the win. Unfortunately for the Beavers and their ardent supporters, the shot hit nothing but iron and Chapman survived, 66-65.

 

Up next for the Beavers will be a postseason first in a round contest with the Kingsmen of California Lutheran University on their Thousand Oaks campus. That game, starting Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m., can be live streamed at GoCaltech.com.