CLAREMONT— After tying with and even leading by one point for a substantial part of the opening 17 minutes at No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Oxy struggled to contain the Stags' tempo in transition, succumbing to a 14-2 second-half CMS run before falling 80-63 in the teams' second meeting of the season.

In the final three minutes of the first half, CMS opened up the floor by a pair of threes by Kevin Sullivan, to put CMS up by seven at the break (31-24).

Oxy then came out of the locker room and began the second half with a steadfast effort to close out on shooters. But CMS took the hint and blew by once they saw the Tigers sprinting towards them, upfaking, driving and then dishing to the open man inside.

Shelby Lane was one such recipient, as he caught a pass near the rim to put in an and-1 layup to go up by fifteen with 11:47 left. Then the Stags (11-2 league, 15-6 overall) turned the game into a track meet, running lanes wide as their big run was capped by a Cody Mivshek layup to bring the score up to 60-41.

"We played hard tonight," Occidental head coach Brian Newhall said. "But CMS is a rock-solid team. They showed off why they are 11-2 in SCIAC."

Eric Leider (Las Vegas) led Oxy with 16 points, as the senior tried to ignite the comeback effort with four threes. Kris Montoya (Portland, Ore.) added 11 points off the bench, often attacking the basket and finding a seam wherever he could. Conrad Liebowitz (Santa Monica) pulled down 11 boards. Freshman Erik Eichinger (Radnor, PA) came off the bench and added seven points (including two threes) in 14 minutes of play. But collectively the Tigers turned the ball over 16 times, limiting offensive possessions.

Mivshek finished with a game-high 20 points for CMS, while Sullivan and Nick Lund added 12 points a piece.

Oxy will face their second road game of the week at Redlands this Saturday at 7 p.m.

"Our guys will continue to work hard and play together as we close out the season," Newhall said.

Mirin Fader is the Oxy men's basketball beat writer. She also writes feature stories on Oxy athletes, coaches and alums. Mirin's work has appeared in Clippers.com, Dime magazine and WNBA.com (LA Sparks). All of her work, including her archived Oxy stories can be found at her website: mirinfader.com