Senior Nasser Al-Rayes (Doha, Qatar / American School of Doha) and sophomore Brent Cahill (Laguna Beach, Calif. / St. Margaret’s) led the charge for the Caltech men’s basketball team, though the Beavers’ bid for three consecutive SCIAC victories fell flat in Saturday’s game at Redlands University. Al-Rayes on a game-by-game basis has had some of […]
Senior Nasser Al-Rayes (Doha, Qatar / American School of Doha) and sophomore Brent Cahill (Laguna Beach, Calif. / St. Margaret’s) led the charge for the Caltech men’s basketball team, though the Beavers’ bid for three consecutive SCIAC victories fell flat in Saturday’s game at Redlands University.
Al-Rayes on a game-by-game basis has had some of his greatest offensive career performances this season, and Saturday’s game was no exception. The center scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds in 32 minutes of action. Cahill, meanwhile scored 17 points off the bench and ended up with a season-best eight rebounds to go with three assists. Senior Ricky Galliani (Menlo Park, Calif. / Sacred Heart Prep) also found his way into double-figures with 11 points. Freshman Alec Andrews (Folsom, Calif. / Folsom) dished out a team-high four assists.
The Beavers actually opened with the lead thanks to a David Kawashima (Studio City, Calif. / North Hollywood) layup scored on a pass from Andrews. However, Trevor Baker and the Bulldogs caught fire from there, going on a 16-3 run from ther, putting the Beavers in an early hole. The aforementioned Baker finished with 31 points and wrecked havoc on the Beavers from start to finish. Redlands entered the half with just a nine-point lead however, thanks to a nine-point first half from Cahill in which he scored all nine points within the final 10 minutes, 15 seconds. Redlands caught a second wind in the second half, however and battered Caltech with a 17-4 run in the second half to all but put the Beavers away for good.
Eslinger and the Beavers will have a tall order this Thursday when they take on first-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at home. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
