CMS Men's Basketball Takes Lopsided 96-54 Win over Bethesda

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Josh Angle had 22 points and James Frye added a career-high 16 off the bench as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's basketball team went into final exams week with a dominant 96-54 win over Bethesda on Saturday afternoon at Roberts Pavilion.

With the win, the 17th-ranked Stags improve to 8-1 on the year, while Bethesda slips to 2-13 with the loss. Frye, a first-year wing, had nine career points coming into the game, but made a case to be a regular part of the rotation with 16 points on 6-9 shooting, to go along with six rebounds. Justin Pratt added 13 points on 5-6 shooting, while Rhett Carter had 10 as the Stags had four players in double figures.

Brian Kenyon had a strong all-around stat line with six points, seven assists, seven rebounds and six steals, while missing only one shot and having no turnovers. The two-time defending SCIAC Defensive Player of the Week also continued in his role as a defensive stopper, holding Bethesda leading scorer Amar Ross (17 ppg) to just seven points on 2-9 shooting. 

Lucas McEachern chipped in with seven points on 3-5 shooting for the Stags, while Jordan Hunt came back from injury for his first action of the season and scored a bucket on a put-back. First-year Luke Jacobson added five points. 

CMS took control early as Kiran Kruse gave the Stags the lead for good with a three-pointer to make it a 7-5 game, kick-starting a 25-5 run that was capped off by an Angle three-pointer, giving CMS a 29-10 lead. A Carter lay-up gave CMS a 41-17 advantage in the first half, before the Stags settled for a 46-25 lead at the break and never looked back. 

CMS shot 55.1 percent as a team (55.1 percent) and had 25 assists and 19 steals. Angle added five assists and three steals to go with his 22 points. 

The Stags will be back in action on Friday after finals when it gets back to Division III competition with a home game against Pacific (Ore.) at 7:30 p.m.