CLAREMONT, Calif. — The Caltech men's basketball team opened 2024 on the road as they faced the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags in a Saturday afternoon SCIAC matchup.

It was the Beavers who earned the first points of the game after first-year wing-forward Pranit Gunjal (Newark, Del. / Newark Charter) connected on a midrange jumper.

CMS went on to take the lead though Caltech continued to fight before the halftime buzzer sounded.

Caltech posted a stronger performance in the second half, putting up 32 points – just five shy of the hosts.

Sophomore guard Noah Hicks (Oxford, Ga. / George Walton Academy) put up the team's first points of the period at the 18:43 mark after downing a good jump shot from the painted area. The captain stole the ball from the Stags a few posessions later before splashing a 3-pointer just moments afterward.

The team put up a valiant effort as the clock wound down though it was not enough to overcome the Stags, who picked up their seventh straight win.

The Beavers shot .700 from the charity stripe while the home team shot .636. Caltech scored 10 points off CMS turnovers and posted 13 second-chance points.

Hicks led the team in scoring with 21 points after shooting 8-for-19 from the field with three 3-pointers and draining both of his two free throw attempts. 14 of his 21 points came in the second half.

Junior forward Riley Wood (Richmond, Va. / St. Christopher's School) led all players from both teams in rebounds, with nine.

First-year forward Matt Cantor (Bayside, N.Y. / Townsend Harris) scored 10 points (4-for-5 FG with two free throws) and added eight rebounds in just 23 minutes of action.

Next up for head coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger and the group is another road clash as they take on the Chapman University Panthers this Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. Follow the action online at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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