2010 Academic All-District First Team - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 SCIAC Athlete of Week - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 Fulmer Tournament Sportsmanship Award - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 All-Engineers Classic Tournament Team - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 NABC Honors Court - ZeNan Chang '10, Christian Clanton '10, Ryan Elmquist '11, Ruslan Kurdyumov '10
2010 Caltech Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 Caltech Freshman Male Athlete of the Year - Mike Edwards '13
2010 SCIAC All-Academic - ZeNan Chang '10, Christian Clanton '10, Ruslan Kurdyumov '10, Ryan Elmquist '11, Wison Ho '12
2010 Vesper Trophy - Ryan Elmquist '11
2010 Team Freshman of the Year - Mike Edwards '13
2009 SCIAC Athlete of Week - Mike Edwards '13
2009 SCIAC Ducey Award - Matt Dellatorre '09
2009 NABC Honors Court - Han Bin Man '09, Christian Clanton '10, Dan Cullina '09, Travis Haussler '09, Ruslan Kurdyumov '10, Wei Li ' 09, Yang Yang '09
Coach Eslinger addresses the team at the annual banquet.
The Beavers wrapped up the 2011-12 season at their annual end-of-year basketball banquet. The team enjoyed a delicious steak dinner and all members were honored and presented with various awards. The captains also thanked each coach and granted him a gift.
Team awards:
Howard Vesper Trophy -- Michael Edwards
Carl Shy Freshmen of the Year -- Andrew Hogue & Bryan Joel
Leader of the Year -- Collin Murphy
Mr. Hustle -- Collin Murphy
Mr. Glue -- Ethan Boroson
Lockdown Award -- Pan Wang
Most Improved -- Alex Runkel & Pan Wang
Citizen of the Year -- Arjun Chandar
Best Dressed - Alex Runkel
Letter winners:
One year -- Andrew Hogue & Bryan Joel
Two year -- Brian Okoro & Mike Paluchniak
Three year -- Ethan Boroson, Arjun Chandar, Michael Edwards, Christophe Kunesh, Collin Murphy, Alex Runkel, & Pan Wang
Pan Wang scored in double figures in each of the last five games.
As the Caltech basketball program evolves, milestones continue to materialize. The Beavers won program changing games this year during the non-conference slate. Significant wins on the road at West Coast Baptist and Macalester preceded an exciting home win against Babson College, an always strong program from New England. With additional wins over University of Dallas and Pacifica College, all five victories mark the first time Caltech triumphed against said schools. The Beavers played competitive games against several SCIAC opponents, and along the way more records were set.
On the season, Caltech made 158 3-pointers, breaking the record set during Coach Eslinger's first season (up from 133)
The Beavers also eclipsed their mark set last year for 3-point attempts (455), this year upping the total to 535
The 95 points scored in the win at West Coast Baptist are the most points scored in a road game in team lore
Through the initial part of the season, Caltech held high national rankings in several categories (stat, rank):
3-point field goals per game (9.0 per game, 21st)
3-point FG% (40.9%, 23rd)
3-point FG% defense (27.2%, 28th)
assists per game (18.0 apg, 19th)
Caltech finished the season ranked No. 100 in 3-point FG% defense (32%), 168th in 3-point makes per game (6.3), and 211th in steals (7.2), showing significant improvement from a year ago (up from 34.6%, 258th ... 5.3, 288th ... 5.4, 363th)
The Beavers' 3-point defense and steals per game were good for second and third in the SCIAC, respectively.
Junior Michael Edwards, who was named to the all-conference second team, scored his 1,000 point during the Babson game and finished the season with 1,200 career points. With the mark, he moved past the legendary Fred Anson '54 and into fourth all-time on the career scoring list. He needs just 98 more to pass George Papa '94 and become the program's scoring leader.
Edwards scored a season-high 28 points in a home win versus Pacifica College.
Junior Ethan Boroson tied a program record with 5 steals in the game against Babson, tying the figure set by Matt Dellatorre '09.
Junior Alex Runkel recorded three double-doubles, including an emphatic one in a close game against Occidental where he scored 16 points and hauled in 16 rebounds.
Juniors Collin Murphy (15 points at Redlands) and Pan Wang (20 points vs Whittier) set career-highs for points in a game.
Sophomore Mike Paluchniak scored a season-high 10 points on two occasions (vs UC Santa Cruz and at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps).
Freshmen Andrew Hogue and Bryan Joel etched their names into the program's top 10 for 3-point field goal percentage in a season (.333 and .367, respectively). They each scored 16 points versus La Verne, a season-high for Hogue, while Joel poured in a season-high 22 at West Coast Baptist.
Edwards, Hogue, Joel, and Wang each hit at least four 3-pointers in one game on separate occasions.
Seven different players led Caltech in scoring or rebounding in separate contests during the season.
The annual alumni event took place on February 4, and what a day it
was. Another great turnout paved the way for a fun-filled alumni game
as Team Turk was able to hold onto it's lead in the final seconds over
Team Papa. Besides terrific competition, Caltech junior Collin Murphy
provided some unforgettable color commentary during the game. (He even
aided the officials with timely calls).
Team Turk was led by Wei Li with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 blocked shot. Scott Davies added 12 points while Ziying Wang and Jon Bird scored 9 each. Their opponents made a valiant comeback, paced by an 18-point, 5-rebound effort from Travis Haussler. Ryan Elmquist aided Team Papa with 15 points while Papa himself scored 13 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, dished out 5 assists, and recorded 1 steal. Dave Zito ran the show with several key passes and screens. In the end, Turk, who had 7 points and 6 boards, steadied his team and managed to endure the offensive onslaught by Papa's peeps.
Prior to the varsity game that night, the top rebounders in Caltech history were honored for accumulating 500+ boards during their careers.
Just because the season ended early this week doesn't mean there isn't worthy news. The season review, including records broken, are forthcoming. Several team milestones were achieved as well as plenty of individual highlights. A summary of another successful alumni event is also on its way. Until then, read up on Collin Murphy's last post on HoopSpeakU, Coach Eslinger's contribution to ESPN's TrueHoop, and check out images from the 2012 season.
The Fourth Annual Men's Basketball Alumni Event is next weekend (February 4). For more information and the registration link, go here. This year, the alumni game will begin at 2 pm, followed by a meal at the alumni house and the varsity game at 7 pm. Prior to the varsity game, Caltech will honor the top rebounders in program history.
Caltech completed its non-conference season with a record of 5-6, marking the best start since 1994-95. On December 31, the Beavers hosted Babson College, the Beavers from the east coast and the New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). Coach Eslinger coached in the NEWMAC prior to his move to the SCIAC and also played against Babson in the 90's as a player at Clark University.
Edwards scored his 1,000th point on Dec. 31
Boosted by Michael Edwards' 25-point night, the host Beavers earned a 57-52 victory over Babson after trailing by as many as 13 points. With his game-high scoring output, Edwards became the 12th player in Caltech history to record at least 1,000 points. Ethan Boroson tied a school record with five steals to go along with his five points and four rebounds. The win marks the first time Caltech has beaten Babson.
In November, The Beavers' first win of the season was a nail-biter, as Boroson came through with a clutch basket with 10 seconds remaining to give Caltech a 63-62 edge. Edwards scored a season-high 28 in that contest and Alex Runkel posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
A few days later, the Beavers started a three game win streak against the University of Dallas (69-53) on the second day of the Thanksgiving Classic. Caltech followed with a tremendous road win at West Coast Baptist, a game that saw the Beavers post 95 points, the most points accumulated in a win since Caltech beat American Indian Bible in 1989-90. Caltech then went to Minnesota and beat Macalester 71-65 before coming back home for the Babson game after the winter break.
Through 11 games, the Beavers are ranked 45th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.1 percent), 131st in assists per game (14.3), and 144th in 3-pointers made per game (6.6). 405 division III schools are ranked.
The basketball team was also highlighted in the Institute's Happy New Year video:
After its 3-2 start, Caltech traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to take on two MIAC opponents. The Beavers beat Macalester, 71-65, on Monday, Dec. 12 to score their third win in a row and what is believed to be the first out-of-state NCAA win in program history. In a tightly contested and physical battle, the Beavers were able to hold off a resilient Scots' squad during the closing minutes of the game. Caltech scored 17 points off Macalester's 18 turnovers and registered 10 steals for the game. Michael Edwards scored 24 points and Todd Cramer had 19 points and 10 assists. Pan Wang scored a career-high 12 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 3 steals. The next day, the Beavers drove down the road to face Hamline. The Pipers came out strong and never looked back as Caltech moved to 4-3 on the year. Edwards and Cramer again led the visitors in scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Bryan Joel added 9 points.
