The Moment

If you haven't heard by now, Caltech did it and the entire Institute is proud.

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Third Annual Alumni Event Recap

This past Saturday, basketball players from the past enjoyed another successful alumni event. Twenty-one alums laced up their sneakers for an intense alumni versus alumni game. This year, alums from Page House (the white shirts team) took on alums from all other houses (the black shirts team).

Yang Yang '09 got the black team off to a strong start as he scored seven points in a tightly contested first half. Ben Turk '98 aided the black attack with six points in the stanza while Scott Davies '06 led Page with seven points. Page Boys Paxon Frady '08 and Mike Underhill '08 supplied five points a piece in the first 20 minutes. Black led 29-27 at halftime.

As the second half became more heated, black shirts heated up. Wei Li '09 and Jon Bird '03 supplied strong offense while Matt Mayernik '03 hit two clutch jumpers to spark a black team run.

Bryan Hires '08 did his best to keep Page close as he erupted for a 9-point second half. Davies added five more points and Travis Haussler '09 had four.

In the end, the mixed house representatives took down Page in an action-packed contest, 63-57.

Black was led by its co-players of the game, Turk and Bird. Turk added to his already hefty career with 13 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots. Bird scored 12 points, hauled in 10 boards, and dished out 5 assists. Li had 12 points, 5 rebounds, and a steal.

Page co-players of the game were Hires and Davies. Hires scored 13 points and added 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot. Davies had 12 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Underhill helped Page with 8 points, 7 boards, and 3 steals.

After the alumni game, past and current players enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Alumni House prior to the varsity game. During halftime of the varsity game, Paxon Frady hit a half court shot that won him the Nobel Ball (a basketball signed by the five Nobel Laureates on campus).


Alumni Game Stats

Page Boys

Scott Davies: 12 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Paxon Frady: 7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Travis Haussler: 4 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 block
Bryan Hires: 13 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block
Don Keenan: 1 rebound, 1 steal
Jeremy Leibowitz: 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Dennis McCreary: 2 assists
Dean Reich: 4 points, 1 rebound
Eric Stout: 4 points
Steve Tsai: 2 points, 1 steal
Mike Underhill: 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
Paul Updike: 6 rebounds

Black Team

Jon Bird: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists
Dan Kollmorgen: 3 rebounds
Jeff Lamb: 2 points, 2 rebounds
Wei Li: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Matt Mayernik: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Peter Plavchan: 6 points, 2 rebounds
Ben Turk: 13 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks
Jay Turner: 4 points, 1 rebound
Yang Yang: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals

Stay connected and see more pictures on Facebook at www.facebook.com/caltechbasketball

Big News for Beavers

Beaver Basketball continues to develop. Some big-news items:

Senior Ryan Elmquist was recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team. This honor qualifies him for the national ballot for Academic All-American. Elmquist has played in every game since his freshman year and is the program's all-time leader in blocked shots. Already a 1,000 point scorer, he continues to move up the top 10 scoring list. He needs just four more rebounds to make the 500 rebound club.

In Saturday's close contest with Redlands, freshman Todd Cramer collected 11 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds. The array of assists moves Cramer into program lore as he is now the record holder for assists in one season (103).

And on Monday, in a grand demonstration of support, Caltech President Jean-Lou Chameau highlighted the efforts of the team in his periodic message to the community.

I would first like to applaud Coach Eslinger and his players for their hard-fought game against La Verne Wednesday night, and I know I'm not alone. The Beavers have played great team basketball and have been very competitive all season. I believe that our first conference win is coming soon, with many more to follow.

It will be a proud day, of course, when the Beavers get that victory, but on Wednesday I was excited just to see Braun gym full of students, faculty, and staff cheering in support of Caltech student-athletes.

Go Beavers!

Close Conference Calls

What a stretch of games for the Beavers.

Last Wednesday, they played a close one at Occidental. Down 10 points with 3:42 left in the game, they cut it to five as Mike Edwards hit a jumper, a layup, and a free throw, but couldn't close the gap. Edwards finished with 11 points while Todd Cramer and Mike Paluchniak each had 12. Cramer, the SCIAC leader in assists, had four helpers.

Official Game Recap
Pasadena Star-News

On Saturday, Caltech traveled to Whittier and played its closest conference road game in 50 years. The Beavers again found themselves down 10 points in the second stanza (at the 13:21 mark) but chipped away and pulled within two points on a Paluchniak 3-pointer with 9:56 on the clock. From there, Whittier responded and grabbed a brief 8-point lead only to see Caltech fend off the Poets and climb to within two points again, this time on a free throw by Ryan Elmquist. A Whittier layup was the last field goal for the home team at the 2:31 mark. Elmquist responded with a driving layup of his own 23 seconds later to make the score 70-68, which ended up being the final. Caltech prevented Whittier from scoring on its next three tries and the Beavers had possession with 8 seconds, but weren't able to convert.

Cramer set a Caltech record with 11 assists. He added 13 points and 8 rebounds. Elmquist had 16 and 7 while Edwards added 11 and 7. Paluchniak scored eight points and Will Dooris and Ethan Boroson came off the bench to combine for 14 points with a combined 6 of 12 field goal effort. Caltech won the battle of the boards.

Official Game Recap
Whittier Daily News

Last night, in front of another huge crowd in Caltech's Braun Athletic Center, the Beavers battled La Verne for the second time this season (La Verne, who is now tied for second place in the SCIAC standings, won the first meeting 76-70). Once again, Caltech was down 10 in the second half, 48-38, with 12:57 remaining in the game. Over the next 11 minutes, the Beavers cut into the deficit and grabbed the lead, 58-57, with 1:03 left. La Verne took a 1-point lead a half minute later but Cramer made a contested layup to give the Beavers a 60-59 lead. With 12 seconds left La Verne drove the lane but Elmquist blocked the shot attempt and the ball was deflected out of bounds. The Leopards managed to get the ball to their best shooter who hit a contested jumper in the corner. Caltech's last second shot attempt missed and La Verne clung to a 61-60 final.

Caltech held the visitors to a 2 of 14 clip from behind the arc. The Beavers shot 57 percent from the field in the second half and again outrebounded their opponent. Edwards scored a game-high 18 points. Elmquist had 17. Cramer turned in another all-around performance with 14 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists. Paluchniak had five points, three assists, and a steal. Collin Murphy played a tremendous game with four points, two steals, and a game-high seven rebounds.

Official Game Recap
Pasadena Star-News