Angle's Free Throws Give CMS a Dramatic 69-67 Road Win over Occidental

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Occidental dove on the floor for a loose ball in a tie game with 1.2 seconds left, but called a timeout it didn't have to force a technical foul, and Josh Angle converted the ensuing foul shots for a big 69-67 road win over the Tigers in a battle between two teams that came in tied for second in the SCIAC on Wednesday evening.

The win was the eighth in a row for CMS, which moves to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the SCIAC with the win. Occidental slips to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the league with the loss. 

Occidental had the chance to hold for the final shot with the score tied at 67-67, but Angle was able to harass the Tigers' penetrating guard in the closing seconds, and the ball rolled free into traffic. Several players dove for it, and Occidental was able to secure possession, but instinctively called a timeout with 1.2 seconds left that it didn't have.

The resulting technical foul sent Angle to the foul stripe, and he made both to put the Stags ahead 69-67. The game wasn't quite finished yet, though, as the Tigers got the ball back underneath the CMS basket after the foul shots with a chance to set up a final shot, and they were able to draw a foul. However, the Tigers missed on the first, and then couldn't get the offensive rebound after intentionally missing the seconds as the Stags held on for a big conference win. 

CMS trailed early by as many as 11 points in the first half (30-19) before making a run over the final seven minutes. Caelan Jones made back-to-back threes to cut it to 30-25, and a Will Householter three-pointer brought the Stags even at 32-32. Rhett Carter then made two foul shots to put CMS ahead 38-37, and Householter capped the half with a three-pointer to make it 41-37 Stags heading into the break. 

The second half was back and forth the whole way, and Matt Meredith came up with two baskets in a row late to turn a 63-60 deficit into a 65-63 lead on a three-pointer with just over three minutes left. Will King answered an Occidental basket with 1:10 left to put CMS in front 67-65, but the Tigers were able to tie it with 47 seconds left to set up the late dramatics. 

Angle finished with a team-high 16 points and seven assists, while Housholter had 13 and Carter and Jones each had 10, with Carter adding a team-high eight rebounds. 

CMS will be action on Monday when it takes on Whittier, hoping to stretch its winning streak to nine.