CMS Men's Basketball Reaches 20 Wins with Road Victory over Occidental

EAGLE ROCK, Calif. - Kiran Kruse had 18 points, Josh Angle had 17, and Rhett Carter had 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's basketball team reached the 20-win plateau for the season with a 63-50 road win over Occidental on Saturday.

With the win, CMS now stands at 20-3 overall and 11-2 in SCIAC, setting up a big finish with games left against third-place Redlands and first-place Pomona-Pitzer as the Stags will try to jockey for playoff position. Occidental falls to 10-17 overall and 3-11 in the SCIAC with the loss. 

CMS held Occidental to just 32.2 percent shooting from the floor (19-59) and outrebounded the Tigers 46-29 on the day. 

The Stags led just 26-24 late in the half, before a 9-0 run spanning both halves gave them some breathing room. Carter closed out the first half with a bucket, and after Angle started the second half with a three, Carter capped the 9-0 run with another basket. 

James Frye had a three-point play and Lucas Grandison hit a jumper to give CMS a 50-33 lead with 10:07 left. Grandison hit a three to stretch it to 18, and Kruse's three with 4:53 to go made it a 58-39 lead, before the Stags settled for a 13-point final margin. 

CMS will host Redlands on Wednesday night, which will also be Senior Day for the program's seven seniors, including Kruse, Angle and Carter, as well as Joey Ganley, Jordan Hunt, Brian Kenyon and Justin Pratt.