CMS Men's Basketball Storms Past Lewis & Clark 82-49

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's basketball team jumped out of the gate with a 16-4 run and never looked back as it breezed to an 82-49 win over Lewis & Clark on the opening day of the David Wells Classic on Friday evening at Pomona-Pitzer's Voelkel Gymnasium.

With the win, CMS improves to 2-1 on the season after getting back to action following a three-week break after splitting two games at its season-opening tournament at Whitworth on Nov. 8-9. Senior guard Miles President led the way for the Stags with 15 points, while senior guard George Walker had 13 and senior forward Jeremy Horn had 10 points on 5-5 shooting. 

Walker made two foul shots to start a 9-0 run that turned a 7-4 advantage into a 16-4 lead. President followed with a lay-up, and junior guard Chukwueloka Oti knocked down a three-pointer off a President assist to push the lead into double digits. Horn then converted a lay-up off a feed from senior forward Kele Mkpado with 13:40 left in the half to cap off the 9-0 run.

The Pioneers scored five straight points to make the score 16-9, but Walker had an old-fashioned three-point play and then scored off a feed from junior guard Mitchell Kirsch to make the score 21-9. A President three-point play made the score 28-12, which was quickly followed by a jumper from senior guard JD Levine, and a Walker tip-in pushed the lead over 20 for the first time at 34-13 with 4:53 left in the half. 

CMS settled for a 43-24 lead at the break, and Lewis & Clark was able to close to within 45-29 early in the second half, but Kirsch had a lay-up and then fed President for a three-pointer to get the lead back up over 20 at 50-29. Levine and Walker then added buckets to make it a 9-0 run and stretch the lead to 54-29, and the Stags were never threatened again. 

CMS finished the game shooting 55.9 percent from the floor (33-59) with 20 assists on its 33 baskets. Sophomore forward TJ Askew had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench, as the Stags held a 45-31 advantage on the boards. Zeke Crawford led all scorers for the Pioneers with 18 points in a losing cause. 

CMS will be back in action tomorrow on the second day of the David Wells Classic when it hosts Pacific for a 7 p.m. contest at Roberts Pavilion.