Stags Dominate Stretch Run for 74-60 Win over Emmanuel

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Will Householter led all five starters in double figures with 19 points, and the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's basketball broke open a tight game by closing on a 12-0 run to take a 74-60 non-conference win over Emmanuel (Mass.) on Thursday at Roberts Pavilion.

The win improves CMS to 5-4 on the season, as it responded well after a 12-day layoff following its last game, an 82-58 win over Buena Vista on Dec. 17. Emmanuel, which hadn't played in 16 days, slips to 4-6 with the loss. 

Josh Angle had 14 points and nine rebounds, Rhett Carter had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Caelan Jones and James Frye each added 12 points. 

CMS only trailed once at 2-0, but Emmanuel came back after trailing 29-17 in the first half to tie the score 35-35 early in the second. Bryant Ciccio made a three-pointer for the Saints to close the score back to 62-60 with 3:36 to go, and had another three-pointer on the next possession with a chance to give Emmanuel the lead, but Jones was able to secure the defensive rebound before putting the game away with a 12-0 run. 

After Carter split two at the line, Householter beat the shot clock with a jump shot from the left edge of the paint to push the lead to 65-60 with two minutes to play. Frye then earned a defensive rebound in traffic and drew a foul, hitting both to put the Stags up by seven. 

Householter then pulled in another key defensive rebound, and with the shot clock winding down, Angle hit a step-back three-pointer to put it away with just over a minute left, to put CMS ahead by 10. Householter added two more foul shots and another two-point shot at the shot clock buzzer to close out the scoring and make the final 74-60. 

The game-closing 12-0 run was the second of two pivotal second-half spurts for the Stags. The first game right after the Saints came all the way back to pull even 35-35, as CMS scored the next nine points to get the momentum back. Householter started that run with a jumper, and Frye followed with another short jumper to make it 39-35. On the next possession, Jones hit one of his four three-pointers on the day to get the lead up to seven, and Carter capped off the spurt with a jumper to put the Stags ahead by nine. 

The Stags held Emmanuel to just 36.1 percent shooting on the day (22-61) and allowed only six second-chance points, securing 32 of a possible 41 defensive rebounds. The Saints also were just 7-31 from three-point territory (22.6 percent) on the day. 

Householter, in his first collegiate season, eclipsed his previous personal high of 17 points he had in his last game against Buena Vista. Frye's 12 points, meanwhile, represented a season-high on the young campaign. 

CMS will be back in action on Saturday when it plays a key regional matchup against Pacific Lutheran at 1 p.m.