PASADENA, Calif. (Jan. 21, 2023) — Senior Chase Pagon tied his career high in points on Saturday as the Caltech Beavers battled against the Panthers of Chapman University. Pagon ended the day with 28 points, going 12-of-23 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep with one free throw. He also recorded nine boards, four assists and two steals in his 37 minutes of action.

Caltech started the in-conference battle hot with a 6-0 lead, and they led again by six at the 10:38 mark by a score of 17-11. The final ten minutes of the half belonged to the Panthers, however, who climbed right back and ended the first half up 39-32.

Chapman began to really pull away as the second half went on, going up by as many as 17 points, but they soon learned the game was far from over. The Beavers crawled their way back, going on a 25-11 run in the final 6:13 and a 14-1 run in the last three minutes. A huge three-pointer by Pagon put Caltech within just three points with 18 seconds to go, but they could not convert one more deep ball in their final offensive possession.

"It was a great comeback," Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger said. "I like the way we battled […] We nailed some shots there at the end, shot the three-ball well, so [we] gave ourselves a chance."

Caltech dominated the Panthers in the rebound battle, grabbing 42 boards to Chapman's 23. The Beavers earned 20 of their points from second-chance opportunities.

"We did a lot of great things," Eslinger said. "It kind of got away from us, but I was proud of how they stuck with it."

Caltech finished the game with 12 three-pointers – one shy of their season high. The squad recorded just three turnovers in the second half.

Caltech registered 20 assists across the game and hit five three-pointers in their final 11:18 of play. Senior Kyle McGraw was second on the team in scoring, putting up 17 points to go with seven boards and four dimes. McGraw also led the team in deep shots with five. Fellow senior Pavlos Stavrinides finished the game with 15 points and a team-high 11 boards.

"All-in-all the message is that we can compete with any team in the league and just have to continue to do the right things in the second part of conference play," said Eslinger.

Eslinger and the Beavers will go on the road for their next two games as they face the La Verne Leopards on Wednesday, Jan. 25 and the CMS Staggs on Saturday, Jan. 28. Caltech will then return home to face the Bulldogs of Redlands on Wednesday, Feb. 1.