Beavers Slug It Out, Post Another W; Elmquist Makes History

If you weren't in Braun Gym on Saturday evening for Caltech's rematch against UC Santa Cruz, you missed a dandy. The Beavers edged the Banana Slugs 63-62 thanks to 50 percent shooting from the field, 17 assists on 22 field goals, and six blocked shots. Todd Cramer paced Tech with 20 points while Mike Edwards had 11 points and 7 assists. Mike Paluchniak added seven points, three assists, two blocks, one steal and a team-leading eight rebounds.

Ryan Elmquist's first bucket put him in the 1,000 Point Club. His four blocked shots cemented his name in Caltech lore as he set the program mark for swats in a career, surpassing Ben Turk's record of 126.

Elmquist Named Athlete of Week

The SCIAC announced Caltech senior captain Ryan Elmquist earned Athlete of the Week honors for the week ending December 10.

Read the Caltech release here.

See the official news on the SCIAC site here.

Coasts Converge: Caltech in the New York Times

The Beavers are presented in today's New York Times. The story by John Branch was posted online Wednesday where it ran on the home page for much of the evening. The national edition in print featured the first part of the story on A1 just below the fold. The article made the top 20 most e-mailed during its first 24 hours. Here is the original story as it was when first released on December 15.

Another Game, Another Win

Caltech won its second game in a row in fine fashion. The Beavers led start to finish as the home crowd witnessed some spectacular plays and contributions from everyone.

Read about the game and check out some of the highlights at gocaltech.com.

D3hoops also featured the Beavers on the home page.

Caltech Wins on Third Day of Fulmer Tourney

Caltech was very competitive in the Fulmer Tournament at Redlands. On Thursday, the Beavers faced the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz, a team that recently beat Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. After Caltech held a slight edge midway through the first half and action that featured nine ties and nine lead changes, UCSC pulled out the win, 79-64. Mike Edwards and Ryan Elmquist scored 18 points a piece while Mike Paluchniak totaled 13 points. Todd Cramer added six assists and nine rebounds as the Beavers recorded 20 assists on their 26 made field goals.

The next day, the Beavers took on Southwestern (AZ), but were unable to convert several open shots. Southwestern gradually pulled away and won 77-58 despite Caltech's courageous efforts to stay competitive. The Beavers' bench scored a season-high 17 points and won the points in the paint 22 to 10 while Caltech as a team boasted a 13 to 11 assist to turnover ratio. Cramer posted a double-double with 15 points and 14 boards and added four assists.

Finally, on the third day of the tournament, the Beavers broke through with a win over American Sports University, 74-67. After a hot start that saw Caltech jump out to a 10-0 lead, the Beavers held a 40-20 halftime advantage. Several runs by ASU made the game closer but Caltech was able to stave off the opponent with great execution and accurate free throw shooting. The Beavers shot 85 percent from the charity stripe (23 of 27) and hauled in 18 offensive rebounds en route to a 17 to 9 advantage on second chance points. For the second day in a row, they held a positive assist to turnover ratio at 14 to 11. Cramer duplicated his performance from the day prior with 15 points and 14 rebounds, plus five assists. Edwards added five assists to go along with a season-high 19 points, many of which came on explosive moves to the basket. Elmquist led all scorers with 25 points and he swatted three shots. Caltech won the battle of the benches, 15-10, paced by Mason Freedman's 9-point, 3-rebound outing.

For the 3-day, 8-team tournament, Cramer led all players with 37 rebounds (12.3 RPG). Elmquist received the All-Tournament Team Sportsmanship Award after averaging 17.3 points during the event.

From the Pasadena Star-News:


From the Redlands website: