MEN'S BASKETBALL

Caltech men's basketball brought back more than 20 familiar faces during its first annual alumni event this past weekend. The function, which was highlighted by the alumni versus alumni game, featured players from five decades as the action came down to the wire in a win for the "odd years" orange team, 56-55, over the "even years" black squad. After Peter Plavchan '01 hit the go-ahead lay-up with less than 10 seconds remaining, Bryan Hires '08 barely missed on a last second desperation try.

The game was close throughout as each team discovered a balanced attack to find its rhythm. Orange led 25-22 at the halfway mark. David Zito '97 ran the show for the Odds and was able to set up the 6'7" Plavchan on more than one occasion. The efficient inside play allowed Matt Mayernik '03 and Jeff Lamb '05 to heat up from the outside. Meanwhile, Dennis McCreary '65 demonstrated his baseline jumper and defensive awareness with solid minutes.

For the Evens, the 2008 class of Paxon Frady, Michael Underhill, and former all-SCIAC player Hires, set the stage with sound ball execution throughout - good enough for them to take the lead in the second half. Perry Walker '82, Eric Stout '92, Dan Kollmorgen '92, and Dean Reich ‘06 each contributed to the Evens effort as Scott Davies '06 served as their coach.

A seesaw battle in the final minutes ended as Underhill scored a bucket in the paint with 14 ticks on the clock. The two points put his Evens up one, which set up the final, game winning score for the Odds.

Current Caltech players made up part of the crowd (and game management) as well as Robert Lester '44, Howard Shanks '54, Richard Van Kirk '58, Fred Newman '60, and former Caltech coach Gene Victor. Tri-captains Dan Cullina, Matt Dellatorre, and Travis Haussler served as the game's officials. A luncheon sponsored by the Caltech Alumni Association followed the on-the-court contest.

Alumni were in attendance as the varsity squad hosted La Verne in the nightcap. In the second meeting between the conference foes this season, Caltech struck first on a steal by Eric Li that later set up a lay-up by Matt Dellatorre. After Han Bin Man nailed a 3-pointer and Dellatorre converted two free throws to tie the score, 7-7, the visiting Leopards followed with a 14-0 run due to Beaver miscues. La Verne eventually pushed its lead to as many as 22 before Caltech closed the half with an 11-6 spurt which sent the hosts into halftime down 17, 39-22.

The Leopards opened the second stanza firing on all cylinders and increased their lead to 33 at the 11:38 point. The Beavers were not able to close the gap until under the 6-minute mark when they scored 13 points to the opponents' four.

Caltech placed three players in double figures led by Ryan Elmquist's 16. Dellatorre had 13 and Travis Haussler 11 to go along with seven rebounds. Elmquist added two blocks and a steal while freshman point guard Eric Li made the second start of his career, playing 31 minutes and committing only one turnover.