Freshman guard Alec Andrews (Folsom, Calif. / Folsom) led Caltech men’s basketball on an impassioned fourth quarter run that saw the Beavers come up just shy of their first victory of the season in Monday’s matchup against visiting Oglethorpe University. Trailing 48-37 with just over 11 minutes to play, Andrews and the Beavers embarked on […]
Freshman guard Alec Andrews (Folsom, Calif. / Folsom) led Caltech men’s basketball on an impassioned fourth quarter run that saw the Beavers come up just shy of their first victory of the season in Monday’s matchup against visiting Oglethorpe University.
Trailing 48-37 with just over 11 minutes to play, Andrews and the Beavers embarked on a 14-4 run to cut the Stormy Petrels’ lead to just one point with less than four minutes remaining. Andrews connected on two three-pointers in that span and led the Beavers with 14 points on the game while adding eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Junior David Kawashima (Studio City, Calif. / North Hollywood) also had four assists and three steals as well as five rebounds and a single turnover. Senior big man Nasser Al-Rayes (Doha, Qatar / American School of Doha) scored six points and led the team with three blocks.
Caltech went shot-for-shot with Oglethorpe over the first half in large part due to the hot hand of senior guard Ricky Galliani (Menlo Park, Calif. / Sacred Heart Prep). Galliani led the Beavers in first-half scoring, totaling eight points within the first seven minutes of the game, and finished with 11 points stemming from three three-pointers and two free throws. His first half ended early due to foul trouble and the Beavers’ 17-11 lead quickly shrunk to three, then flipped around to Oglethorpe’s advantage as the Stormy Petrels raced ahead to a seven-point halftime margin.
One of the biggest improvements the Beavers made from the season opener was getting the bench more involved. Sophomore swing man Brent Cahill (Laguna Beach, Calif. / St. Margaret’s) and freshman guard Bret Johnson (Carlsbad, Calif. / Santa Fe Christian) came off the bench to each provide Caltech with seven points.
Ultimately, the Beavers were unable to get the one basket they needed to put themselves ahead for good and ended up dropping the tightly contested affair.Nevertheless, Caltech managed to outshoot its opponent, albeit by a narrow 34.4-32.8 percent edge and were the better team from long range. Though the turnover battle was not lopsided, Oglethorpe did generate more points off the extra possessions, outscoring Caltech 20-8 in that department.
Still looking for their first win of 2016, Head Coach Dr. Oliver Eslinger and the Beavers will enjoy a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday before they host Wisconsin Lutheran College (1-0) this Saturday, Nov. 26 at 5:00 p.m.
