PASADENA. Calif. (Feb. 7, 2022) - An epic seesaw battle was waged on Monday night with limited fans back in the stands to see four ties and seven lead changes as Caltech men's basketball knocked off the SCIAC-leading and regionally ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Stags, 61-60, for the first time since 1970-71 inside the Braun Athletic Center.

 

In a fierce contest in which neither team shot the ball exceedingly well, it was the Beavers' clampdown defense and steadfast effort that had them knock off the Stags. With the win, the Beavers moved to 11-9 overall and 5-5 in the SCIAC on the year. The loss drops CMS to 15-4 (9-3) to still lead the conference.

 

"I loved how tough we played," Head Coach Oliver Eslinger said. "It sounds cliche, but it was the entire team effort that got the job done tonight. Heading into the prior game against Occidental, we were playing with confidence and cohesiveness. We used the momentum from that road win and carried it into this contest. We can compete with anyone when we remain aggressive and have everyone contribute."

 

The Beavers' defense led the effort. They have proven to be a team that succeeds when they get their offense going following stops and held the Stags to nearly 16 points below their season average of 75.8 points in SCIAC games.

 

Senior Marcus Gee (Santa Monica Calif. / Santa Monica) led the Beavers offensively on 5-12 shooting, making one three-pointer on the night. He was a perfect 11 of 11 from the free-throw line as well as grabbing three boards and dishing out three assists while leading the Beavers with 22 points. He was supported most notably off the bench by junior Kyle McGraw (Los Altos Hills, Calif. / The Nueva School) who, iIn 25 minutes of action, was 3 of 8 with all made baskets coming from long range. He also contributed three rebounds as he totaled11 points, knocking down 2 of 4 free throws.

 

The Beavers' starters played much of the contest in foul trouble. Seniors Noah Barnes (Springfield, Va. / Jefferson) and Spencer Schneider (Houston,Texas / Clearbrook) both fouled out, scoring well below their season averages while senior Steven Hei (Newcastle, Wash. / Liberty) and junior Pavlos Stavrinides (Nicosia, Cyprus / The English School of Nicosia) were perilously close to being disqualified as each picked up four fouls in the hard-fought battle by both sides.

 

The first half saw both teams shadow one another for the majority of the period, staying within a possession or two each time down the floor. It wasn't until CMS made a layup with 6:19 remaining that the visitors opened up a seven-point cushion, their largest lead of the contest. But a made jump shot by junior Chase Pagon (Solana Beach, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian) assisted by McGraw and then a made three by McGraw with Pagon returning the favor within a minute made it a two-point ballgame with the hosts trailing 22-20 with 5:19 left in the first half. The two teams traded blows for the final five minutes of the period and went into the locker room with the Beavers trailing 26-25.

 

The visitors started the second half with the basketball, but after missing on their first two shots of the half, Barnes grabbed the defensive rebound and raced to the other end of the floor to give the Beavers their first lead of the second half at 27-26 with 18:48 remaining in the contest. The Beavers defense and ability to make shots saw them forge a double-digit lead on a made shot by Gee at 43-33 with 11:28 remaining in the contest. With just under eight minutes to go, the first-place Stags had whittled the lead back down to a basket, with the Beavers still up 45-43. Gee once again opened up a little more comfortable cushion when he nailed a three-pointer, his only made triple of the night, with 7:27 remaining, pushing the lead back out to 48-43.

 

The Beavers were able to keep the Stags at a two-possession deficit for the next five minutes, but were then held scoreless for nearly 2:30 down the stretch as the Stags made a furious, expected late push. With 35 seconds remaining, the Stags leapt into the lead on a made three-point basket and were ahead 60-59. With 13 seconds to go, Pagon made a driving layup assisted by Gee to put the Beavers back in front. Two defensive stops in the remaining 13 seconds by the Beavers secured the hard-earned, tense landmark victory.

 

With the win, Caltech moves into fifth place in the conference and has a matchup with the fourth-place California Lutheran University Kingsmen on Wednesday, Feb. 9. The contest will take place in Thousand Oaks on the Cal Lutheran campus. To livestream the contest and to see real time stats, please go to GoCaltech.com.