CMS Men's Basketball Surges Past Caltech 68-49

Note Schedule Change: This coming Saturday's game with La Verne, originally scheduled to be played at CMS at 7 p.m., will now be played at La Verne at 4 p.m.

PASADENA, Calif. - Nicolas Segura Dobjanschi shot 7-15 from the field and led the Stags with 14 points as the CMS Men's Basketball team used a 41-point second half to clinch a 68-49 victory over Caltech at Braun Athletic Center in Pasadena on Monday night.

The Stags improve to 8-4 overall and 2-1 in SCIAC play after winning their second consecutive conference game. Caltech falls to 0-3 in conference and 6-6 overall after dropping its third straight SCIAC game. Following a big victory over Redlands 73-71 in overtime on Saturday, the Stags needed a thorough effort and they achieved it to clinch another tough conference victory by a 19-point margin. 

At the 11:23 mark in the first half, the Stags and Beavers were knotted up 14-14. Over the final minutes of the first frame CMS outscored Caltech 13-4 to stretch the halftime lead to 27-18. Mark Sui and Chukwueloka Oti led all Stags with 6 points in the first half. Sui made 2-4 from the field, both shots being three-pointers, and Oti matched that exact scoring line over nine minutes off the bench. Oti finished the game with eight points on 2-5 shooting off the bench and Sui finished with eight points as well on 3-6 from the field. George Walker made a layup to break the 14-14 tie that lasted almost three minutes. Walker finished with five points off the bench on 2-3 from the field. 

Segura Dobjanschi put home a layup to give the Stags an 18-14 advantage. Miles President drilled a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 21-16 with 5:17 left in the first half. Sui sank one of his two three-pointers on the night at the 3:14 mark to extend the lead to 24-18 after a two-pointer by Spencer Schneider for Caltech. Walker made one of two free-throws to extend the lead to 25-18 and a layup by Segura Dobjanschi gave the Stags a 27-18 lead at the half over the Beavers. 

CMS shot 35.7 (10-28) from the field for the first frame, including 5-10 from three-point range and 2-4 from the free-throw line. Jeremy Horn grabbed six first-half rebounds, and Mitchell Kirsch led the team with three first-half assists. The Stags out-rebounded the Beavers 22-11 at the halftime buzzer. 

In the second half, the Stags opened with two missed shots but an offensive rebound by Segura Dobjanschi led to a layup to give CMS the opening basket of the second frame and stretch the lead to 29-18 just over a minute into the half. 

Segura Dobjanschi scored 10 of his 14 points in the second stanza, shooting 5-10 from the field in the frame. Horn added eight second-half points to finish his night with 13 on 6-12 from the field alongside nine rebounds. 

The Stags outscored the Beavers 41-31 in the second half to pull away to a 68-49 victory. 15 Stags recorded minutes and 10 players made shot attempts. Overall, the Stags shot 56.7% from the field in the second half and made 3-4 from three-point range and 4-4 from the free-throw line. Ryan Kusch made his only three-point attempt and finished with five points. JD Levine sank his only three-pointer and Mitchell Kirsch drilled his one three-point attempt in the second stanza. 

For the game, the Stags shot 46.6% (27-58) from the field, 57.1% (8-14) from three-point distance, and 75.0% (6-8) from the free-throw line. The onslaught of offense put the Beavers leading scorer Gokul Srini (17 points, 6-10 FG) in foul trouble with four personal fouls. Which allowed the Stags to limit the Beavers offense to 34.6% (18-52) from the field for the night. 

Caltech was led by Gokul Srini who scored 17 points (6-10) off the bench including 3-5 from three-point land. Marcus Gee, who scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting, marked the only other Beaver to score in double-figures. 

The CMS Men's Basketball team will be back in action on Wednesday, January 9 at first place Occidental (13-0, 4-0) inside Rush Gymnasium at 7 p.m. Occidental is coming off of a 61-49 victory over Caltech on Saturday, January 5.