CLAREMONT — Jay Miller scored 18 points and Zach Baines added 17 and nine rebounds, but the Occidental men's basketball team came up a little short of upsetting No. 25 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a 63-58 road loss on Tuesday.

Baines got the Tigers going in the first half with a pair of three pointers and added a key three late in the game that kept the Tigers within striking distance.

Miller was steady throughout the night, going 7 for 15 from the field.

Oxy leading scorer Andrew Johnson had a tough night, going just 2 for 12 from the field for five points. Ryan Kaneshiro scored eight points, Austin DeWitz added six and played terrific post defense against the CMS bigs, and Joe Compagno was a spark off the bench in the first half with four points.

The Tigers were tied at half 32-32 before giving up a 10-0 run to start the second half. Oxy worked its way back into the game, cutting the lead to 54-52 with 2:28 left in the game on a pair of free throws by Baines, but CMS forward Jack Ely hit a deep three at the end of the shot clock, putting the Stags back up by five points, 57-52 with 2:01 to play.

Ely, who missed all of last season with an injury and is working his way back into the lineup, had a huge game, going for a game-high 21 points on 6 for 7 shooting from the field and 7 for 7 shooting from the foul line.

Season Impact: The Tigers fall to 9-6 overall and 1-5 in conference play.

CMS improves to 11-1 and 4-0.

Next Game: Oxy travels back to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday to play Pomona-Pitzer.