PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech men's basketball team competed in its penultimate nonconference game of the regular season on Thursday as the squad hosted the University of Chicago in a Thursday afternoon duel at Braun Gymnasium.

Three different Beavers reached double-digits in scoring, with first-year center Stuart Florescu (Toronto, Ont. / Crescent School) leading all players on either team with 17. The rookie shot 8-for-15 from the field and 1-for-2 from 3-point territory.

Junior guard Noah Hicks (Oxford, Ga. / George Walton Academy) followed with the second-most points among any player, scoring 15 on 6-for-14 shooting including a stellar 3-for-4 performance from behind the arc. The captain brought down a team-high six rebounds, nabbed one steal and dished out one assist.

Rookie guard Josh Balami (Woodbury, Minn. / Math and Science Academy) added to the team's total with 11 points of his own on 5-for-12 shooting to go with one made free throw on two attempts. The freshman led the team in assists, with three, tying his collegiate career high.

It was the visitors who earned the opening score of the contest, but Caltech responded moments later with a good layup from Florescu to put the squad within one at 3-2. The two teams continued trading buckets as Chicago answered right back with a field goal of their own before Florescu again finished underneath the basket to put the Beavers within one yet again at 5-4.

Sophomore wing/forward Ryan Hu (Bellevue, Wash. / Newport) found Hicks for the team's first 3-pointer at the 14:56 mark before Hicks drained another deep shot with 12:23 to go in the half. Sophomore guard/wing Andrew Koclanes (Denver / Colorado Academy) got in on the 3-point shooting on the team's following possession as Hicks found his teammate behind the arc.

The Beavers wrapped the half with a nice transition layup from Balami after Hu blocked a Maroon shot and pushed the ball ahead; Florescu capped off the team's first half scoring with a massive dunk as Balami fed the big man in the paint.

It was Caltech who kicked off the second half scoring as Florescu finished on another layup in the opening two minutes of action.

Caltech found some offensive rhythm in the middle part of the half as the squad scored nine points in just over two and a half minutes. A nice jumper from Hicks during that sequence kicked off a 7-2 run for the Beavers, who subsequently scored a fastbreak layup on their next possession as Koclanes stole the ball from the guests and fed Balami underneath the basket for the bucket.

A good free throw from Balami and a foul-drawing made layup from Florescu capped off the Caltech run, though the team was not done scoring as Balami and Hicks each found the bottom of the net in the final minutes. It was a strong final push from head coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger's group but the team could not catch back up to the Maroons as time ran out.

Caltech outscored Chicago in the final 16 minutes of the game; the hosts scored eight fastbreak points to the Maroons' four. The Beavers coughed up only 11 turnovers – one away from their season-best. The group scored 10 points off Chicago turnovers.

Next up for Caltech is the squad's final nonconference matchup of the regular season as the Institute hosts Saint Mary's University of Minnesota on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 4 p.m. Cheer on the Beavers in person and follow along online at GoCaltech.com/coverage.

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