ORANGE, Calif. — The Caltech men's basketball team faced off against Chapman University on the road on Saturday in a late afternoon interconference showdown.

Nine different Beavers contributed to the team's scoring output with first-year guard Josh Balami (Woodbury, Minn. / Math and Science Academy) leading the way; the rookie put in a collegiate career-high 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting to go with a 4-for-5 performance from the free throw line. Balami also blocked one shot and dished out three assists, the latter of which tied his best as a Beaver and tied the game high among all players.

First-year guard Chase Williamson (McDonough, Ga. / Union Grove) scored nine points after going 2-for-4 from the field including 1-for-2 from deep and posting a perfect 4-for-4 showing from the charity stripe.

Junior guard Noah Hicks (Oxford, Ga. / George Walton Academy) led all players in steals, with three; he put in eight points after finishing a layup, going 3-for-3 from the free throw line and connecting on a long ball.

The opening minutes of play saw a nice layup from sophomore forward Matt Cantor (Bayside, N.Y. / Townsend Harris) and good 3-pointers by senior guard James Downs (Huntington Beach, Calif. / Huntington Beach) and Hicks to keep the Beavers in range, while sophomore guard/wing Andrew Koclanes (Denver / Colorado Academy) made a jumper a few minutes later to get the Beavers within eight. Williamson went on to drain a two and a three on back-to-back trips down the court to put Caltech within seven at 22-15, but the hosts answered with some nice buckets of their own, extending their lead into the second half. The Beavers could not catch back up as the final horn sounded.

Caltech shot .850 from the free throw line on 17-for-20 shooting while the Panthers shot .652 there on 15-for-23 shooting.

The Beavers forced 12 Chapman turnovers and capitalized on those opportunities, putting in eight points on those extra possessions.

Next up for head coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger and the program is a nonconference matchup at home as the Beavers welcome the University of California, Santa Cruz for a 2 p.m. clash on Sunday, Dec. 15. Cheer on the Beavers in person and follow along online at GoCaltech.com/coverage.

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