LOS ANGELES — After playing 34 minutes of solid basketball against the defending SCIAC champs Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, the Occidental College men's basketball team had a handful of defensive lapses that led to a costly 9-2 Stags run.
Cody Mivshek hit a critical three with 2:07 remaining, putting CMS up by eight points (63-55) and essentially deciding the game.
Oxy point guard Eric Leider (Las Vegas, Nev.) hit his third three — for three of his 14 points — with 1:09 left to cut the lead to seven, but it was too late, as Oxy fell 71-59 in their SCIAC opener at Rush Gymnasium.
"We battled for those 34 minutes against the most sound team we've played yet," Occidental head coach Brian Newhall said. "And then right when we thought we were breaking them, we were the ones that crashed.
"Our overall effort was fantastic—it was a very good small college game. But we're still learning how to close out on shooters. In the last five or so minutes of the game, they made plays and we didn't."
Prior to then, the Tigers (0-1 SCIAC, 2-2 overall) were the ones dictating the tempo of the game.
With just under 6 minutes to play, Kris Montoya (Portland, Ore.) slashed in the lane for two of his game-high 15 points, and then on CMS' next possession David Yetenikyan (Glendale) stole the ball and scored inside to bring Oxy within two points (54-52), prompting the orange and black student section to yell in their loudest pitch all night. When the Stags turned the ball over on the next play, it seemed like Oxy was going to come away with a win.
But CMS (1-0 SCIAC, 2-4 overall), ranked No. 11 a year ago, was disciplined on offense, consistently working the ball around for multiple passes a possession until they got the shot they wanted. Collectively, the Stags shot 53.1 percent from the field while Oxy shot just 40 percent.
Four players finished in double figures for the Stags: Mivshek had 13 points, Shelby Lane and Jack Grodahl each had 12 a piece, and point guard Remy Pinson had 11 points and 4 assists.
Frontcourt duo Deshun McCoy (Los Angeles), Conrad Liebowitz (Santa Monica) were limited to single digits and neither played more than 23 minutes due to foul trouble. Even so, Oxy managed to hold a one-point lead at halftime (32-31).
The Tigers will put this one behind them and get ready for Saturday's game against Chapman on the road at 7 p.m.
Mirin Fader is the Oxy men's basketball beat writer. She also writes feature stories on Oxy athletes, coaches and alums. She is currently a Team Writer for the Los Angeles Clippers (Clippers.com), and also contributes articles to Dime Magazine (dimemag.com). This past summer, Mirin wrote for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. All of her work, including her archived Oxy stories can be found at her website: mirinfader.com