LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Beginning the second round of Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action tonight at Rush Gymnasium before a packed house, the Occidental College men's basketball team stunned the visiting, current conference leading, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags' earning a 49-43 victory in a back-and-forth battle.

Trailing by a point, 20-19, at the intermission after a first half in which the score spread was never more than three, the Tigers got the spark they needed from a pair of freshmen with 7:04 to play in regulation.

Kris Montoya drove the baseline, splitting a pair of Stags' defenders, attempting an acrobatic reverse layup, which bounced on the rim and trickled off the edge. There to retrieve the ball was classmate Ty Cobb, who grabbed the offensive rebounds and layed in the ball, giving the Tigers a 35-34 lead.

Occidental would never look back, using the Cobb basket as the first of four consecutive for an 8-0 run to open a seven point lead.

"Our three freshmen stepped up in a big way tonight," head coach Brian Newhall shared post-game. "Cobb, [Drew] Dockweiler and Montoya were all in the game when we extended our lead to seven points. They are growing up in front us."

CMS would get back within a pair, but the Tigers dug down and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 2:07 with a pair apiece from Montoya, Drew Dockweiler, Jake Copithorne and Deshun McCoy. Overall the Tigers were 17-for-19 from the charity stripe tonight.

Sidelined on Wednesday night, Jack Hanley ended up leading all players with 12 points, including a 2-for-2 performance from three-point range on his only two shots of the first half. He added a 4-for-4 night at the line.

"Hanley gave us a nice boost off of the bench as he gutted it out and played through a painful ankle sprain from earlier in the week," Newhall commented following the victory.

McCoy and Montoya finished with eight and seven points, respectively while Sam Stapleton chipped in with six as he controlled the pace of the game as the Tigers' point guard.

"Stapleton is a worker," Newhall added. "He is a pleasure to coach. Sam is all about the team. His work ethic and practice habits are incredible and will definitely bode well in the future."

Dockweiler was the only other Tiger in double figures tonight with 10. He continued his solid playing ways, going 3-for-3 in the opening period, finishing 4-for-5 from the floor. Additionally he led the squad with eight rebounds.

All eight Oxy players who stepped on the hardwood came away with a rebound tonight. Jake Copithorne continues to be strong on the glass, finishing with seven boards and was the only Oxy player with more than one offensive rebound. Occidental out rebounded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 31-26 although the Stags finished with nine offensive rebounds to the Tigers' seven.

As a unit the Tigers played a very sound game, keeping things close. The teams were tied 10 times and the lead changed 11 times during the 40 minutes. Occidental held CMS to a 28 field goal percentage tonight.

"We played a solid game on defense," Newhall went on, "Our effort and focus in the second half was much better tonight than it has been."

Earlier in the season, the Tigers lacked focus at times and were unable to finish out some close games, starting the SCIAC season 0-4. Since then, they are 4-1, with their only loss an overtime heart breaker to Cal Lutheran University. 

The win pushes the Tigers' record to 10-9 overall, 4-5 in SCIAC play while the Stags fall to 11-8, 7-2.

"CMS is the team to beat," Newhall noted, showing the respect that he has for their program. "Coach Scalmanini has turned CMS into one of the top teams on the West Coast. We cannot forget that they are playing without defending SCIAC Player of the Year Chris Blees and back up center Greyson Blue and. Ken [Scalmanini] is doing an outstanding job."

Occidental will be on the road for a pair, beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 9 when they travel to the University of La Verne. The Tigers and Leopards will tip off at 7:30 p.m.

Article by Tracy Maple, Sports Information Director