CMS Men's Basketball Dominates at Both Ends in 78-41 Win over Occidental

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's basketball team made its first six shots on its way to building a 29-6 lead and then cruised to a 78-41 win over Occidental on Saturday afternoon at Roberts Pavilion.

With the win, the 22nd-ranked Stags move to 7-1 on the year and 2-0 in the SCIAC, while Occidental falls to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in league play. 

Josh Angle led a balanced offense with 20 points, while Kiran Kruse had 19, and Rhett Carter had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Brian Kenyon added eight assists, seven rebounds and no turnovers. 

Occidental scored first, but the lead would last only 13 seconds before Carter scored on the first CMS possession, and the Tigers would never lead again. Carter scored again on the next CMS possession and Angle hit a short jump shot to make it 6-2. After Occidental closed to within 6-4, the Stags went on a 14-0 run to make it a 20-4 game capped off by a Justin Pratt layup. 

Kruse had a three-point play and a three-pointer to get the lead up to 29-6, before Occidental was able to sustain its best basketball of the night and get back within 10 points at 33-23. Pratt stopped the run with a basket with 49 seconds left in the half, and CMS took a 13-point lead into the break at 36-23. 

Angle opened up the second half with two quick three-pointers and a jumper, and then fed Matt Meredith for a breakaway dunk to push the lead up to 20 at 46-26. Meredith then fed Kruse for a three-pointer, and the lead kept swelling, reaching 40 points with 1:39 to go before CMS settled for the 37 point final-margin. 

The Stags shot 50.8 percent from the floor, and held Occidental under 40 percent shooting at 29.8 percent, including just 4-25 from three. CMS also had 19 assists and just six turnovers as a team. 

The Stags will next step out of conference to take on Bethesda on Saturday at 4 p.m.