PASADENA, Calif. – Caltech Men's Basketball hosted the Whittier College Poets Saturday afternoon in front of a raucous Braun Gymnasium crowd as part of the day's Orange Out event.
 
Highlighting the day was junior Riley Wood (Richmond, Va. / St. Christopher's School), who played the full 40 minutes and tallied another double-double with 14 points and a game-high 19 rebounds, leading both teams in offensive and defensive boards.
 
As a team, Caltech out-rebounded Whittier on offense by a 19-5 margin, leading to 23 second chance points compared to Whittier's eight. The Beavers found more success up close, outscoring the Poets 40-36 in the paint.
 
Wood helped keep the Beavers in contention with 14 first-half rebounds, then in the second half, sophomore Noah Hicks (Oxford, Ga. / George Walton Academy) let loose for 18 points for a game total of 21. Rookie Ryan Hu (Bellevue, Wash. / Newport) and junior Evan Portnoi (Short Hills, N.J. / Northfield Mount Hermon) also contributed double-digit points to Caltech's effort, and the team outscored Whittier 48-44 in the second half. First-year Matt Cantor (Bayside, N.Y. / Townsend Harris) was the other Beaver with double-figure rebounds, 10 including four on offense.
 
Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger and the Beavers will have just one day off before hosting local SCIAC rival Occidental College on Monday, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m.