Season Review: The Beavers are Evolving

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 win 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.

Searching for Victory, Beavers set more Records

Caltech's comeback wasn't quite enough on Saturday against La Verne. The Beavers, after being down 13 at halftime saw the spread briefly swell to 20 with just more than six minutes to play (67-47), but they battled back with great defense and scoring punch to finish the game on a 23-9 run. Final score: 76-70.

(Recaps from GoCaltech.com and Pasadena Star-News)

The team continues to set program records as it looks for its next win. On Saturday, Caltech set the mark for the most 3-pointers made in a game as four players combined for a 12 for 22 night from behind the arc. Sophomore Mike Edwards tied his own Caltech record (in an NCAA game) with seven made treys on his way to a career-best 35 points. The 35-point effort ties Travis Haussler's school record for the most points against an NCAA opponent. Freshman Mike Paluchniak poured in a career-high 16 points. In addition, the 6-point margin of defeat is the closest Caltech has come on the road to a SCIAC or NCAA opponent since the 1995-96 season when the Beavers lost by three points at Redlands.

Caltech plays its next two games at home this coming Wednesday and Saturday.

Caltech Hits 10 3s

Caltech makes 10 3-pointers, including a program record - seven - courtesy of freshman Mike Edwards.