PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech men's basketball team hosted the Willamette University Bearcats on Monday in a nonconference evening clash at Braun Gymnasium.

The Beavers won the first half, putting up 38 points to the visitors' 37 due in large part to a 6-for-12 showing from beyond the arc and a near-perfect 10-for-11 performance from the free throw line.

The squad battled hard in the second half, though the guests overtook the lead and stayed ahead until the final buzzer.

Action tipped off just after 5 p.m. and it was the Bearcats who scored the first eight points, but Caltech responded with some offensive of their own, including a nice 3-pointer from sophomore wing/forward Ryan Hu (Bellevue, Wash. / Newport) to get within one point at 22-21.

The Beavers tied up the contest at 24-24 on their very next possession as senior guard James Downs (Huntington Beach, Calif. / Huntington Beach) connected on a long ball before rookie center Stuart Florescu (Toronto, Ont. / Crescent School) scored a good layup in the paint to make it a 26-26 game and three successful trips down the court for Caltech.

The Beavers took the lead at the 5:32 mark of the half as rookie guard Chase Williamson (McDonough, Ga. / Union Grove) drained a good 3-pointer to put the Beavers on top, 29-28. Williamson collected a missed Bearcat layup moments later before downing another deep shot to push the Caltech lead to four with 5:26 to go in the period, capping an incredible 32-20 run for the Beavers. Junior guard Noah Hicks (Oxford, Ga. / George Walton Academy) registered the assist on both of Williamson's big threes.

Willamette briefly re-took the lead before the Beavers took it right back, thanks to points from Hicks, Florescu and Williamson at the end of the half.

Caltech continued making plays on both ends of the court in the second half, extending their lead to six at 46-40 after Florescu drained a good jumper in the painter. The Bearcats responded with some points of their own but a nice and-1 layup from Williamson put Caltech up 48-43 before he converted the three-point play with the free throw to make it 49-43.

A good trey from Hicks put the Beavers ahead by nine at 52-43, though Willamette answered with a nice run of their own to get within one point of Caltech. The visitors soon tied the game before taking the lead with 12:04 to go in the game.

The Beavers fought valiantly across the final 12 minutes but could not stop the Bearcats' offense. The two teams battled until the final buzzer though it was the visitors who collected the victory.

Hicks led all players from both teams in scoring, putting up 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting and a 3-for-3 evening from the charity stripe. The captain reached a new season high in assists after dishing out a team-high four dimes; he collected six rebounds and stole the ball from the opponent three times to tie the game high.

Florescu brought down a game-high 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass. Both feats marked collegiate career highs for the first-year Beaver. The big man recorded five more rebounds than the next-highest rebounder; he also added 16 points after draining seven field goals and going 2-for-2 from the line to go with two assists and a blocked shot.

Williamson scored 13 points with three field goals and a 5-for-6 night from the free throw line. The guard collected three boards and tied the game high in steals among any player, with three.

Caltech scored 18 second chance points to the Bearcats' six; the Beavers scored 28 points in the paint and 17 off Willamette turnovers.

Head coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger's team made 14 of their 16 free throw attempts; they committed just 14 turnovers to Willamette's 16. Caltech brought down 41 rebounds to the opponent's 40; the Beavers recorded 14 offensive boards to the visitors' seven.

The squad will now focus on their first interconference matchup of the season as they take on the University of Redlands on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. on the road. Follow the game online at GoCaltech.com/coverage.

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