Caltech Men's Basketball opened its 2026-27 season Saturday afternoon at Occidental, falling 76-62 to the Tigers at Rush Gymnasium.
Sophomore Ryan Rodrigue (San Diego, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian) led the Beavers with 16 points, going 5-of-7 from the free-throw line and adding three steals and a block. Junior Chase Williamson (McDonough, Ga. / Union Grove) filled the stat sheet with 12 points, a game-high nine rebounds, a game-high five assists and three steals while going a perfect 4-for-4 at the line. Junior Stuart Florescu (Toronto, Canada / Crescent School) also scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go with seven rebounds, three assists and a block, and sophomore Finnegan Fancher (Ventura, Calif. / Ventura High School) was perfect from the floor, hitting all four of his shots for eight points while adding a block.
Rodrigue got Caltech on the board with a 3-pointer off a Florescu assist, then converted a three-point play at the 17:33 mark to give the Beavers a 6-4 lead. After Occidental moved back in front, Rodrigue turned a Williamson steal into a driving layup to tie the game. Caltech stayed within striking distance through the rest of the half behind a Florescu layup, a Fancher dunk off a Florescu feed and a 3-pointer from sophomore Ido Geffen (Wayland, Mass. / Wayland High School). Fancher added a layup off a Williamson assist late in the half, and Caltech went into the locker room trailing 37-30. Rodrigue paced the Beavers with 11 first-half points.
The Tigers stretched the lead early in the second half, but the Beavers kept answering. First-year Anthony Liu (Vancouver, Canada / Southridge School) knocked down his first collegiate basket, a 3-pointer off a Williamson assist, and Florescu followed with a second-chance layup off another Williamson feed. Florescu later drilled a 3-pointer of his own, and senior Pranit Gunjal (Newark, Del. / Newark Charter) added a tip-in. Caltech finished strong with a 6-0 run in the final four minutes, scoring eight of the game's last 10 points behind two layups from Rodrigue, a layup from Geffen and a closing bucket from Fancher.
The Beavers held the edge at the free-throw line, making 12 free throws to Occidental's three, and also led the Tigers in blocks, 3-1, and fast-break points, 5-4. Caltech shot 43.4 percent from the floor and scored 34 points in the paint.
Up next for Head Coach Bryan Joel and the Beavers is the home opener against Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 4:30 p.m. in Braun Gymnasium.
