PASADENA, Calif. — Caltech Men's Basketball battled the Westminster College (Mo.) Blue Jays on Tuesday afternoon in a closely-contested nonconference clash at Braun Gymnasium.

Rookie center Stuart Florescu (Toronto, Ont. / Crescent School) led all players from either team in scoring, putting through a career-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting including a 1-of-1 showing from behind the 3-point line. The center drained two of his three free throws in addition to bringing down six rebounds and a career-high three blocks to lead all players.

Junior guard Noah Hicks (Oxford, Ga. / George Walton Academy) scored the second-most among any player, putting in 16 points on seven field goals. Hicks went 2-for-5 from beyond the arc and recorded two assists to go with three boards.

The two Beavers paced the squad in the opening minutes with the duo combining for Caltech's first nine points of the contest. This included a transition jump shot from Hicks after a nice steal and assist from first-year guard Chase Williamson (McDonough, Ga. / Union Grove) to make the score 9-9.

Both teams fought valiantly in the following minutes, though it was the visitors who soon jumped ahead to an 11-point advantage.

Caltech responded, however, with an impressive 13-5 run to get within three at 29-26 before the halftime buzzer sounded.

Williamson kicked off the run with a pair of made free throws before Florescu added to his total with a good jump shot. Senior forward Riley Wood (Richmond, Va. / St. Christopher's School) found Hicks for a triple just over a minute later before rookie guard Josh Balami (Woodbury, Minn. / Math and Science Academy) scored a tough layup through traffic, earning the bucket and getting fouled in the process. Balami knocked down a good jump shot from the midrange moments later to cut the Westminster lead to just three.

The Blue Jays scored their final points of the half via a close-range jumper before the Beavers fed Florescu down low; the rookie drew a shooting foul and hit both free throws to cut the deficit to just three yet again just before the half closed.

Caltech came out of the halftime intermission with energy; they found their first bucket at the 18:28 mark as Williamson drew the defense and passed to Florescu who finished underneath the basket.

A nice layup from sophomore forward Matt Cantor (Bayside, N.Y. / Townsend Harris) two possessions later put the Beavers within just two points at 32-30.

Westminster answered with some nice offense of their own before eventually growing their lead to 10, but a massive 8-0 run from the Beavers put Caltech right back in it at 46-44 with 7:51 to go. Florescu initiated the run with a deep 3-pointer after Wood found him behind the arc before Williamson connected with Florescu yet again for another score under the hoop. Williamson capped off the run with a made free throw and a fastbreak layup after Hicks fed him in transition.

The Beavers came one shot short of tying the action at 46-46 before the Blue Jays scored to make it 48-44. Caltech continued to play hard on both sides of the ball but could not catch back up to the visitors, who pulled ahead in the final minutes before time expired.

The Institute finished the night with 12 second-chance points to Westminster's two; Caltech corralled 12 offensive rebounds to the Blue Jays' five. The hosts recorded one less turnover than the guests with 10 and blocked two more shots than them, with three.

Wood brought down a game-high nine boards in just 17 minutes; six of those came on the offensive glass to again lead all players. The senior dished out three assists and had no turnovers. Williamson finished with nine points, three assists and a steal.

Next up for head coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger is another nonconference duel as the Beavers host the University of Chicago Maroons this Thursday, Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. Cheer on Caltech in person and follow along online at GoCaltech.com/coverage.

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