LOS ANGELES — After conceding 10 offensive rebounds to Emerson College by halftime, the Occidental men's basketball team took it personally.
Finding a man and putting a body on them was the mantra for the rest of the game, and the team sustained a late Emerson comeback to win 73-63 at Rush Gymnasium, the first of the new year.
The Tigers (5-7) matched Emerson's intensity on the glass in the second half by outrebounding them 23-22.
"Rebounding was definitely our point of emphasis at the break," Occidental head coach Brian Newhall said. "In the SCIAC, rebounding is crucial. We're small, with three smaller guards out there, so we have to make it a point of emphasis.
"We did a much better job in the second half."
After leading by as many as 17 points, the Tigers left Mike Carbone open for three with 1:49 remaining to bring the Lions (4-6) within seven, their closest.
Then Conrad Liebowitz (Santa Monica), who scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, picked up an offensive rebound of his own and put in a layup with 1:02 left to pull away 70-61.
What worked tonight for the Tigers was going to a more inside-out game, with Oxy's frontcourt and perimeter shooters playing off of each other.
Big man Ty Cobb had his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards, including a key layup inside with 3:13 to go to stretch Oxy's lead back to 10 (66-56).
Once Cobb and Liebowitz established themselves inside, the floor opened up for shooters like Ryan Chong (San Diego), whose hot-hand continued its streak. Knocking down five threes in the first half, Chong had his third consecutive game of 17 points or more.
Point guard Sam Stapleton (Los Angeles) facilitated the motion offense, dishing out eight assists, while Kris Montoya (Portland, Ore.) tallied 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting.
Oxy led by 12 at the half (42-30) and maintained the lead, despite Emerson's continual push to the basket for layups in transition.
"We just really wanted to win. Everyone here doesn't want to lose. We're sick of losing," Chong said. "We're trying to turn things around, and now we just have to keep big leads when we have them. We're getting better."
The Lions were led by Patrick Lowndes, who posted 14 points and 13 rebounds, eight of which were offensive. Michael Thorpe scored 16 points and Carbone added 10.
Emerson rounds out Oxy's non-conference schedule as the Tigers begin SCIAC play this Saturday at Cal Lutheran University at 7 p.m.
"We were trying to come out with intensity tonight to give us some momentum towards SCIAC," Liebowitz said.
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