PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech men's basketball team competed in its second home game of the season on Sunday as they hosted the University of California, Santa Cruz for an early afternoon battle. Hot off a win in their most recent matchup, the Beavers entered the matchup with energy and intensity as they faced their guests from up the coast.

Caltech owned the first eight minutes of the contest as the squad jumped out to an 10-3 lead, beginning with a nice jumper from first-year guard-wing Christos Palkogiannis to score the game's opening points.

About a minute later, first-year forward Matt Cantor came up with a block and a steal in the span of nine seconds to deny the Banana Slugs of a bucket. The rookie scored a layup on the Beavers' next offensive possession.

Senior guard Leo Williams got involved in the scoring after stealing the ball from the guests on the other side of the court; Cantor found the squad's lone senior behind the arc to put the Beavers up 7-3.

Cantor picked up his second dime of the day less than a minute later as he found junior wing-forward Evan Portnoi for a 3-pointer to push the lead to 10-3; a good free throw from Cantor at the 12:32 mark put the Beavers up 11-5.

The two squads traded points as first half action continued but Caltech stayed in front until the 5:15 mark, when a good free throw by the Banana Slugs tied the game at 16-16.

The guests took over the lead though a jumper from Palkogiannis put the Beavers within three at 26-23 with 13 seconds remaining in the half.

Caltech scored its first points of the second half at the 18:46 mark as Palkogiannis found Cantor for a nice and-1 layup in the paint. The newcomer downed the free throw to make it a three-point play.

Sophomore guard Noah Hicks drew a foul a few minutes later; the Georgia native went 2-for-2 to keep the Beavers within two possessions of the visitors. Hicks drained back-to-back free throws yet again a few minutes later after drawing another foul.

A steal by first-year guard-wing Andrew Koclanes at the 15:40 mark resulted in a fastbreak layup for the Beavers, as first-year wing-forward Ryan Hu found junior forward Riley Wood who scored underneath the basket.

The Beavers continued battling down just four points, though they were unable catch up to the Banana Slugs as time wound down and the final buzzer sounded.

Caltech shot .773 from the charity stripe (17-for-22) while the Banana Slugs shot .556 (10-for-18). The Beavers scored nine second-chance points to UCSC's seven.

Hicks led the way in scoring for the squad as he netted 12 points; the sophomore went a perfect 6-for-6 on free throws. Cantor led the group in rebounds (six) and blocks (two). Portnoi went 2-for-4 on 3-pointers.

Head coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger and the team will now focus on the Violets of New York University as the two programs face off this Wednesday, Nov. 19 at Braun Gym. The contest will begin at 5 p.m.; cheer on the Beavers in person or follow along online at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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