Scalmanini Earns 400th Win as CMS Men's Basketball Roars Past Whittier 83-61

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Head Coach Ken Scalmanini earned the 400th win of his coaching career as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's basketball team rang in the new calendar year with a convincing 83-61 win over Whittier on Saturday afternoon at Roberts Pavilion.

Scalmanini, who is the winningest coach in program history, now stands at 400-181 in his 23 years at the helm of the Stags, good for a .688 winning percentage. This year's team, meanwhile, now stands at 9-1 overall and 3-0 in the SCIAC after picking up its seventh straight win, while Whittier slips to 5-6 overall and 0-3 in the league with the loss. 

After taking over for David Wells in 1998-99 (after serving as Wells' assistant for three years), Scalmanini has led the Stags to a winning record in every one of his first 22 seasons, including an average of just under 20 victories (19.8) in the last 12 years. He became the winningest coach in program history in 2016-17 when he earned his 325th victory to surpass Wells, who earned 324 wins from 1974-98.   

TJ Askew and Josh Angle led CMS with 18 points apiece, while Rhett Carter added 12 and Matt Meredith had 10 for a balanced Stag offense. CMS also had 21 assists and only nine turnovers as a team, with Brian Kenyon leading the way with six assists. The Stags also forced 21 turnovers on the day behind 17 steals, with Angle and Luke Webb tying for team-high honors with four apiece. 

CMS never trailed and had full control of the game after a 10-0 run turned a 20-11 advantage into a 30-11 lead. Five different players had baskets during the run, with Kenyon starting it off with a layup, and Angle finishing it off with another layup, with Askew, Webb and Carter adding baskets in between. 

Whittier did get back within 12 points at 40-28, but CMS closed out the half on a 5-0 run to take a 45-28 advantage into the break, as Stuart McCallum capped off the opening 20 minutes with a layup off a pretty feed from Angle. The Stags weren't threatened in the second half, building their lead up to as many as 25 points before settling for the 22-point final margin of victory. 

CMS is scheduled to return to action on Wednesday night, when it will take on Caltech on the road at 7 p.m.