LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Feb. 11, 2009) – Sadly, the prospect
of the Tigers advancing to the 2009 Southern California
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball Post
Season Tournament is slowly slipping away. Tonight Occidental was
outscored 55-33 as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags held the black
and orange to their lowest point total all season.
The tempo was set early in the first half as the Stags used a
9-0 run to break a slight 6-5 advantage, posting a double-figure
lead. CMS continued to build on the lead, as Oxy struggled shooting
just 5-for-19, and took a 35-13 lead at the break, which was
ultimately enough points to win the game. The Stags shot an
incredible 65.2% form the field in the opening half.
In the second half the Tigers' shooting improved (39.1%
from the field) and tied the Stags with 20 points in the period,
but that was obviously not enough to pull out a win. Occidental
struggled from the free-throw line combining to go 3-for-7 overall.
Jack Hanley led the Tigers with 10 points while
6-foot-10 center Sean Anderson,
who has been sold this season, was held to just five.
Leading all players with four assists was Evan
Shore who also added four points, four rebounds
and a steal. Henry Meier grabbed four rebounds as
well, to join Shore as the Tiger leader, while coming up with a
pair of blocks.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps looked to Michael Bagby and Ben Bergsma
who score 19 and 11, respectively. Chris Blees brought down a game
high eight rebounds and Bagby added four.
Occidental falls to 9-12 overall and are now even at 5-5 in
SCIAC play with four games remaining. The Stags (15-6) remain
knotted in a three-way tie for second place in the conference with
Cal Lutheran (who defeated La Verne) and Whittier (who defeated
Caltech). Pomona-Pitzer (9-1) earned a victory over Redlands
tonight to remain atop the standings. Oxy is in the fifth spot with
games against Whittier, Caltech, ULV and UR remaining.
Saturday evening the Tigers will travel to Whittier to take on
the Poets at 7:30 p.m. at the Graham Athletic Center following a
5:00 p.m. game between the women's teams.
