Photo by samsphotoservices.com

Los Angeles, CA – Occidental College played against the CalTech Beavers this last Saturday in a well matched game. 

In the beginning of the first half it was clear that this could be anyone's win with the two teams having similar skill sets. Oxy came in strong with a 3-point shot being made by Aiden Williams - a skill that Williams has clearly improved on throughout the season.

Williams continued to make some killer three-point shots while first year Jacob Lopez started to let his own skills shine. Throughout the half, his rebound game was on fire helping turn the possession to Oxy and giving his teammates a chance to score more. At 8:47 on the clock, Williams was able to make yet another three-point shot that had the crowd going wild. This gave Oxy greater confidence and energy to be able to end the half in the lead 29-27. 

In the second half it became clear that both teams had similar defensive techniques preventing both sides from scoring. That being said, Oxy's new players took this opportunity to showcase their advanced synergy with the team. The players could be seen improving their abilities to predict where their teammates would end up and were able to readily pass the ball on the outside of the opposing team. With 14 minutes left on the clock, Lopez had a stellar breakaway that allowed him to get a layup that helped the team tie with CalTech once Shipp got his shot in - making both players the highest scoring players during that half. At 12:10, Oxy was up again 41-40. After that, Oxy was up for the next few minutes; when CalTech started to gain on them, they were able to tie again with 7:50 left on the clock. 

Overall in the second half, Aden Nolet, who has also been seeing more game time lately, was able to score four points alongside Anthony Hollerich, just behind Lopez and Shipp. Although the players were unable to make as many shots towards the end, the game ended in an overall low score for both sides, better showcasing Oxy's strong defense.

Next Game: Oxy's Tigers will be playing Redlands at 7:00pm on Monday, February 7th at Occidental College.