LOS ANGELES — Andrew Johnson scored 24 points, had nine rebounds and three steals, and the Occidental men's basketball team played outstanding defense against Caltech on Thursday.

But the Tigers couldn't muster up enough offense and the Beavers got hot in the second half as Oxy fell 60-53 at Rush Gym.

Season Impact: The Tigers fall to 8-3 overall and 0-2 in SCIAC play. Caltech improves to 3-8 and 2-0 in conference, winning their third game in a row.

Caltech's Nasser Al-Rayes scored 25 points on 9 for 12 shooting, including 3 for 3 from the 3-point line. The 6-foot-10 Caltech center hit two of his threes in the second half, one of them at the end of the shot clock to give the Beavers a 45-39 lead with 5 minutes to go. 

Austin Dewitz scored nine points on 4 for 5 shooting, Jeevin Sandhu added eight and Joe Compagno added seven.

The Tigers played without First Team All-SCIAC guard Jay Miller for the fourth game in a row. Miller, a senior from Los Angeles, scored 24 points in Oxy's 61-45 season-opening win at Caltech on Nov. 15.

Next Game: The Tigers play their first SCIAC road game of the season, traveling to play La Verne at 4 p.m. on Saturday.