Stags Drop Top-15 Showdown to Start Season

Whitewater, Wis. - The No. 15 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps got off to a slow start in their season opener against the No. 11 Wisconsin - Whitewater Warhawks. Despite a strong second-half, the Stags were unable to climb back and fell by an 82-66 final in Wisconsin. Scott Lynds (CMC) and Kendrick Morris (CMC) went for 19 and 18 points, respectively, while Jack Ely (CMC) grabbed 11 boards to lead the team.

With the game tied 7-7 early in the first half, the Warhawks used a 20-5 run to take a 27-12 lead with 8:13 remaining in the opening half. Whitewater led by as many as 25 in the first-half and held a 48-26 lead at the half.

The Stags hung around and pulled with nine with under four minutes remaining at 70-61, but late free throws gave the Warhawks the 82-66 victory.

Overall, the shooting percentages between the Stags and Warhawks looked pretty similar across the boards. Stags shot the ball well with a 23-51 mark from the field (45.1%) compared the a 44.9% from the Warhawks. The biggest came in the form of free throws totals and rebounding. The Stags attempted 25 free throws in the game, making 15 (60.0%), compared to a 30-44 effort from the stripe from Whitewater. The Warhawks also dominated the glass grabbing 45 total rebounds against just 23 for the Stags.

The 23 rebounds is the lowest in a game for CMS since they grabbed 23 against East Texas Baptist in the NCAA Tournament on Mar. 7, 2015.

The Stags played much better after the half. In the second-half, both Morris and Lynds scored 14 points. As a team, CMS shot the ball at a 53.8 clip from the field and was 3-6 from beyond the arc. Lynds connected on three of his four attempts from downtown in the half.

CMS will now travel to Wisconsin-Platteville to take on the Pioneers tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. CT/5:00 p.m. PT.