WHITTIER, Calif. – The Caltech men's basketball team faced the Whittier College Poets Saturday afternoon, looking to go 2-0 against their SCIAC rivals in the regular season.

The Poets started off in command, scoring first and racking up a 10-3 lead in less than three minutes. It was senior Kyle McGraw who put the Beavers on the scoreboard with a three-pointer, and then classmate Pavlos Stavrinides followed with a pair of free throws and a layup to cut Whittier's lead down to three points. Fellow senior Jack Pierson replied to a Poet layup with a Stavrinides-assisted three-pointer to keep the game close.

Whittier stayed in control, leading by eight points two more times as the first half wound down, but the Beavers rallied to outscore the Poets 14-3 in the last six minutes of the half, senior Ben Juarez leading the charge with a three and a free throw, followed by layups by seniors Chase Pagon and Stavrinides, and two more three-pointers by McGraw including a buzzer-beater that sent Caltech into the halftime break with a 39-34 advantage.

The Beavers weren't done with that scoring streak, though, as they opened the second half with a 6-0 run capped by a three-ball by rookie Noah Hicks, Unfortunately the momentum would then shift in Whittier's favor as they caught fire on offense, capitalizing on turnovers and breaking though to score in the paint.

As a team, the Beavers out-rebounded the Poets including a 13-6 advantage on offensive boards, which they converted into 15 second-chance points compared to five by the home team.

Pagon led both teams in rebounds with 15 along with team highs of 18 points, four assists and three steals. Stavrinides racked up a double-double as well, with 16 points, 12 boards, two assists and a block. McGraw tallied 14 points all from the field, while Hicks led the bench with 11 points, three assists, and perfect free throw shooting.

Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger and the Beavers will play their last weekday game of the season Wednesday, Feb. 15 against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. Senior Day for Beaver Basketball will follow on Saturday, Feb. 18 with the women's and men's teams hosting Occidental College. Watch the games live on https://sciacnetwork.com/caltech.