Balanced Offense Leads CMS Men's Basketball to 98-87 Win over Whittier

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Josh Angle had 22 points and James Frye had a career-high 19 to lead five players in double figures as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's basketball team earned a 98-87 win over Whittier on Saturday afternoon at Roberts Pavilion.

With the win, the 11th-ranked Stags improve to 11-2 overall on the year and 3-1 in the SCIAC, bouncing back from a defeat at La Verne on Wednesday. Whittier slides to 4-9 overall and 0-4 in the SCIAC with the loss. 

Angle had 22 points and seven assists for the Stags to lead the offense, while Frye had his 19 points on 8-9 shooting, surpassing his previous high of 16 points which he set against Bethesda. Rhett Carter added 18 points on 7-11 shooting in 24 minutes, while Justin Pratt had 13 of his 14 in the second half after picking up two fouls in the first. Kiran Kruse was also saddled with foul trouble, but still had 12 points in 13 minutes, opening the door for Frye's contributions. 

Brian Kenyon quarterbacked the offense efficiently, finishing with 12 assists and only one turnover, matching the exact assist-to-turnover line he had in a win over Haverford in the last CMS home game on Dec. 30. He now has 87 assists and 17 turnovers this season, a ratio of 5.1-to-1, while averaging 6.7 assists per contest. He flirted with triple-double numbers as well, ending with seven points and a team-high eight rebounds. 

CMS led by as many as 22 points in the first half before settling for a 56-41 lead at the break, and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half. The Stags had 23 assists on their 35 baskets, with Angle adding seven to the 12 totaled by Kenyon. 

The Stags will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Cal Lutheran for a 7 p.m. contest.