Stags Drop Heartbreaker to Occidental

After Wednesday's win over a strong Cal Lutheran team the Stag seniors were 18-4 at home in their careers, but on Saturday night Occidental knocked off CMS at home, 52-51, dealing a huge blow to the Stags’ championship hopes. In an ugly defensive contest where neither team shot the ball well, the Tigers did just enough to secure victory.
Occidental (5-9, 1-2 SCIAC), who scored only 39 points in a 31-point loss to Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday, looked on pace to put up another record low Saturday. The Tigers scored just two points in the game’s first 10 minutes. While the Stags were playing excellent defense, they were not able to score enough to put the game out of reach, taking a 24-16 lead into halftime.

The Stags were not able to hold off the Tigers, who did not play as poorly in the second half as they had in the first. A 14-5 run to start the half allowed the Tigers to take a one-point lead with 16 minutes to go. The game was close throughout the half; there were seven ties and nine lead changes. Down one with 1:27 to play, the Tigers’ David Ostrow made two free throws to give Occidental a 50-49 lead. Jason Toney (JR, Yorba Linda) quickly answered with a layup, putting the Stags ahead. A foul by Stags sophomore Patrick Lacey (Orangevale) put the Tigers’ Sean Anderson on the line, and he made his two shots to make the score 52-51, Occidental. Toney had his last-gasp shot blocked by Anderson, and the Stags fell at home.

The Stags took excellent care of the ball, turning it over only 8 times, but shot just 29.6% from the field for the game. Conner Faught (JR, Agoura Hills) scored 13 points on 3-13 shooting. Toney had nine points, four assists and two steals. Lacey had six points, six rebounds and three steals. Chris Blees (SO, Carmichael) had five points to go with seven rebounds.

CMS’ next game is across Sixth Street against Pomona-Pitzer, who are undefeated in league and share first place with Whittier. Last season, the Sagehens beat the Stags in all three meetings. The game is crucial for both teams and they will play in a packed Rains Center as the Claremont College students are back on campus for the start of classes on Tuesday. The men play at 7:30 on Wednesday night.