LOS ANGELES — Spencer Levy scored 25 points — including seven 3-pointers — as the Occidental men's basketball team's speed and outside shooting topped Caltech's size and physical strength in a 76-68 win at Rush Gymnasium on Tuesday.
Oxy improves to 8-6 overall and 4-2 in SCIAC play. Caltech falls to 1-14 and 0-6.
Levy went 7 of 15 from beyond the arc, hitting four threes in the first half to get Oxy out to a 37-32 lead, and then three more in the second, pushing the lead to 16 points with 6 minutes left in the second half.
From the Coach: "Spencer had a fantastic night shooting the ball, but what is even more impressive is that his choices of when to shoot and when to drive, are getting better and better," Oxy head coach Brian Newhall said. "They are a big, phsyical, well-coached team but we were able to overcome our issues on the boards with quickness and effort."
As a team, Oxy was 12 of 32 from deep against Caltech's 2-3 zone defense.
Juwan Rice, who was named SCIAC Male Student-Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Andrew Johnson added 12 points and four rebounds.
Oxy's Kory Hamane helped Oxy erase an early eight-point deficit with a three first-half 3-pointers.
Jay Miller gave the Tigers a solid bench contribution in his first game back from injury, scoring three points, with four rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Caltech had five players in double figures. Lawrence Lee led the Beavers with 15 points off of the bench, Ricky Galliani scored 14, KC Emezie had 13, Nasser Al-Rayes added 12 and Andrew Hogue had 12.
With a starting lineup that includes the 6-foot-10 Al-Rayes, 6-foot-6 Emezie and 6-foot-6 Hogue, Caltech dominated on the boards, outrebounding Oxy 49-32. The Beavers grabbed 17 rebounds on the offensive end.
Oxy kept the Beavers to just 39 percent shooting form the field and cause 17 turnovers.
Next Game: The Tigers return to action on Saturday, hosting Whittier at 4 p.m. in Rush GymnasiumThe Tigers beat the Poets last season at home in triple overtime, 88-83.