Stags Edge Poets 67-66

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags rallied from a seven-point second half deficit to defeat the Whittier Poets 67-66 Saturday night. A clutch free throw by senior Dan Winterbottom (Tempe, AZ [pictured]) with 3.2 seconds remaining sealed the victory for the Stags.

CMS had four players in double figures. Freshman Chris Blees (Carmichael) led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds. Winterbottom and sophomore Conner Faught (Agoura Hills) added 11 points apiece. Junior Austin Soldner (Southlake, Texas) dropped 10 points in the contest.

Whittier's Bill Ritter led the Poets with 24 points.

A few minutes into the first half, the Stags used a 10-0 run to take a 17-5 lead at the 13:10 mark. CMS held a double-digit lead for most of the half. In the closing minutes of the first half, Whittier rallied to tie the game at 34 with four consecutive free throws.

Whittier's attack continued in the opening minutes of the second half. They used a 15-3 run bridging the halves to take a seven-point advantage.

The Stags fought back with an 11-4 run to tie the game at 45. Altogether, the game saw seven ties and six lead changes.

The two squads traded baskets until the closing minutes of the game. Facing a three-point deficit, Blees scored on a driving play to cut the lead to one. Soldner followed that with a steal and an easy lay-up to take a one-point lead.

After a missed shot on the other end, senior Craig Borengasser (Tempe, AZ) was fouled coming down with the rebound. Borengasser hit the front end of a one-and-one for a two-point advantage. Whittier came back down and tied the game at 64 with 1:24 remaining in the game.

Winterbottom hit a jumper with 46 seconds left to regain the advantage. Two free throws by Whittier's Jeff McLean tied the game at 66 with 22 seconds.

With five seconds left, Whittier's Mike Archuleta was called for a loose ball foul. Winterbottom missed the first free throw, but knocked down the second shot for a 67-66 lead with 3.2 seconds left. On the ensuing Whittier possession, Faught got his hands on a pass from McLean to seal the win.

-CMS-