Stags Knock Tigers Out Of First

The men's basketball team defeated the 14th-ranked Occidental Tigers 68-51 on Wednesday. In a reversal of their first meeting, where the Stags trailed by one at the half only to lose by 15, CMS led by two at the half and then dominated the second frame. CMS improved to 12-8 overall and 4-5 in SCIAC (5th) while Occidental dropped to 14-5 and 7-2 (2nd).

The first half was close throughout. CMS jumped out to an early six point lead before Occidental rallied to take a brief lead. There were three ties in the half and the score was 33-31 entering the break. The Stags came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders and started the half on a 19-2 run. The Tigers answered with a 14-2 run of their own before the Stags responded with an 8-0 run. CMS made six of eight free throws in the final minute to put the game away.

Mani Maceira (JR, Cotati) led the team with 24 points and seven rebounds. Austin Soldner (SO, Southlake, TX) added 12 points. Coury Clemons (SR, Santa Barbara) had team-highs of three assists and three steals. Connor Whitman led the Tigers with 21 points. CMS held Sam Betty, Occidental's leading scorer at 19.3 pts/game, to just eight points.

CMS travels to Redlands this Saturday, February 10 for a 7:30 matchup.