Occidental men’s basketball played in the SCIAC tournament for the first time since 2020, beating Cal Lutheran 88-84 in the tournament’s inaugural first round game Feb. 25.
Guard Nasir Luna (sophomore) scored 13 of the team’s first 16 points, opening up an early lead for the Tigers, the fourth seed in the tournament.
At around 10:30 in the first half, guard Perry Rainey (first year), a mid-season transfer from DI Howard University, and guard Ethan Hanning (senior) ran into each other on defense. On the Tigers’ next possession, Rainey got up and knocked down a 3-pointer, widening Occidental’s lead to 25-12 and forcing the Kingsmen to take a time out.
Guard Jacob Koretz (senior) said Rainey has made athletic plays all year — and his redemptive 3-pointer was one of Koretz’s favorites.
That play, Rainey “had a one-on-one opportunity,” Koretz said. “Usually he goes to the rack every time,” but Rainey passed the ball to Clotfelter.
“Nicky [Clotfelter] kicked it back out — wide open 3,” Koretz said. “Bang. I was hyped.”
Occidental played without injured guard Alex McCleery Brown, who scored 28 points in the team’s 86-82 upset win Feb. 14 over Redlands, the top-seeded SCIAC team and No. 10 in DIII at the time.
Assistant coach Dominic Maynes said many players stepped up against the fifth-seed Kingsmen.
“They were doubling a lot of our lost post entries, whether it was Nicky or Nas [Luna],” Maynes said. “Nicky made the right read, kicked it right back out to Perry — that was a big 3.”
Occidental’s lead over Cal Lutheran hovered around 10 points the rest of the first half, which finished 44-35.
During the second half, the Tigers grew their lead to 19 points. Cal Lutheran outscored Occidental 19-3 in fast break points during the second half and cut the Tigers’ lead to single digits at the clock dwindled under six minutes. With 11 seconds remaining, the Tigers were up 2 points with Luna at the line.
Luna, who led Occidental in scoring with 26 points, made both of his free throws. In the game’s final moments, Occidental’s defense held on for the win.
According to Maynes, the pressure, composure and speed of the last six minutes defined the game.
“It was new for all of our guys to be in that situation, playing beyond the regular season,” Maynes said. “So for them to be confident and not allow the moment to overtake them — I was really proud of that.”
Guard Mateo Tangaan (senior) said the game was electric.
“We prepared all week for it, so we were very confident in it, but obviously we don’t want to close it out that close, since we were winning the whole time,” Tangaan said. “But all in all, just a great win.”
According to guard Ethan Hanning (senior), playing in front of a packed gym was exciting.
“They took our big away really well — Nicky — and we’re without our best player right now — without Alex [McCleery Brown],” Hanning said. “It was awesome though. Just so fun to be out there.”
Occidental lost to Redlands 76-100 in the SCIAC tournament semifinals Feb. 28.
The Feb. 25 victory over Cal Lutheran was the final home game at Occidental for six seniors: Tangaan, Hanning, guards Koretz and Henry Wilson, and forwards Clotfelter and Chase Miller.
Wilson said he became instant friends with Koretz, Miller and Clotfelter when they met freshman year. Tangaan and Hanning both transferred to Occidental as juniors, from Merced College and Vanguard University, respectively.
Wilson, who is from Columbia, Missouri, said he and the other four-year seniors have visited each other’s hometowns. Koretz is from Kingston, Pennsylvania, Miller is from Littleton, Colorado and Clotfelter is from San Diego, California.
“Every time any of us drive across the country, we all stop at each other’s houses,” Wilson said.
According to Maynes, his first season as a coach in Occidental’s program was also three years ago, and the team was still emerging from the remnants of COVID-19. Maynes said the 2022-2023 season was the first time in many years that the team did not have a junior varsity program, so players were competing for a smaller roster. Still, that year’s freshman class came in looking to learn right out of the gate.
Maynes said that Koretz, Clotfelter, Wilson and Miller are playing college basketball after being some of the better players on their high school teams. As younger players at Occidental, Maynes saw them “allowing themselves to kind of start from the bottom again and work their way up.”
“Seeing that through each year has been phenomenal,” Maynes said.
Maynes talked with them about building a foundation for Oxy basketball after COVID-19 by improving the program bit by bit. And they listened.
“You just want to be proud of what you’ve done,” Maynes said. “So in 10 years, whatever it is, you’re looking back at what you did for the four years during your time here at Occidental, and it’s like, ‘I left it better than I found it. I built a program that’s, again, trending in the right direction.’ And so far they’ve done nothing short of that.”
Hanning said the team had seven freshmen last year, when he and Tangaan transferred.
“It was nine new guys that came in, so it was basically a whole new team,” Hanning said. “I think that helped in a way, because usually it’s new guys trying to get assimilated, but more than half of the team was new.”
That campaign was “a building year,” Hanning said. The team had less turnover this season, “so we jumped into the same system we ran last year, and we could build on top of it a bunch.”
According to Hanning, this year’s squad is the closest team he’s ever been a part of.
“We knew this would be a special year,” Hanning said. “Especially in college sports, I’d say it’s pretty common for there to be divides on teams, or people don’t like their captain. I’d say we don’t have that at all. There’s no cliques.”
Working out everyday with Hanning, Tangaan said they became close friends. Wilson and Clotfelter, who were co-captains this season and last, helped integrate the junior year transfers.
“I still feel like they’re a little older,” Tangaan said of Wilson and Clotfelter. “Just because I stepped in and they were those leaders that introduced me to the team. But just coming to the new program, they sold me on being unselfish.”
Koretz said that the seniors are his brothers.
“I’ve never been a part of a basketball team that has trusted me so much, and I’ve been able to genuinely trust them,” Koretz said.
Wilson said Koretz is naturally a quiet guy, but a leader by example who shows the team how to work.
“It might be a little bit untraditional having a point guard not talk so much, but he’s our rock,” Wilson said. “When things are unsteady — even you saw it tonight, things getting crazy, the game is back and forth — get the ball to Jake. He’s going to slow it down, he knows what play to call. So everyone trusts him.”
Miller said part of what makes Koretz a successful basketball player is his emotional consistency.
“I’d say there’s an element of mystique around Jake in general,” Miller said. “He keeps to himself a little bit in some ways, at least in terms of how he presents himself … I think that’s one of the reasons he’s been so successful as a basketball player, because keeping your emotions out of it and staying consistent, no matter what’s happening around you, is really one of the most powerful traits as a player.”
Maynes said Koretz and Wilson work in tandem.
“Henry’s voice is truly what goes above and beyond. Everybody knows he’s our vocal leader, and it’s something that he’s taken strides in,” Maynes said. “I would say it really transcended his sophomore year. That’s where it took shape, and he’s grown each and every year, leading by example and through his voice.”
According to Miller, Wilson started for two years before coming off the bench this season.
“What really spoke to his character more than anything is how he handled that,” Miller said. “He always came to practice with a good attitude. He always showed everybody, by example, how you deal with those kinds of situations.”
Because of his poise in a new role, Miller said Wilson had many big moments down the stretch for the team. Wilson nailed two crucial 3-pointers with less than 10 minutes left against Whittier in early January. Occidental ended up winning by 1 point.
“I think Henry is a prime example of how to continue to be a leader and continue to keep your head up through all that adversity,” Miller said.
Wilson is always one of the first guys in the gym, Miller said, and supports his teammates when they don’t feel like things are going their way.
“He’s really kept us together in a lot of meaningful ways,” Miller said.
While Wilson is the team’s vocal leader, Maynes said Clotfelter reinforces the standard Wilson sets.
According to Maynes, Clotfelter is “very within himself. He’s not somebody who’s going to be overly loud, but you understand — talking to him, watching him play, how he acts in practice — what the expectation is.”
On a team that lacks big players — only Clotfelter and Miller are 6-foot-6 or taller — Tangaan said the team often runs the offense through Clotfelter. The San Diegan’s size pays dividends on the other side of the court, too.
“He can guard guards — that’s why we’re able to switch everything,” Tangaan said. “That’s why we’re so good at defense this year.”
According to Tangaan, because Clotfelter is 6-foot-7 and moves like a guard, he “doesn’t belong” in DIII ball.
“He’s definitely DII, DI caliber,” Tangaan said.
Miller said both he and Clotfelter dealt with injuries during their college basketball careers. During the Eaton Fire in January 2025, Miller said Clotfelter invited the team to wait things out at his home. While they were in San Diego, Clotfelter was lifting weights and dropped one on his foot, causing him to miss the rest of the season.
“Nicky is someone who, like me, has dealt with substantial injuries in his career,” Miller said. “He only played seven games last year, [and] had a multitude of unfortunately timed injuries. So just thinking about both of us, I think he and I played in a combined 46 of 54 games this year, which is just absolutely incredible. So I really could not be more proud of him.”
Miller has dealt with knee and ankle injuries since the summer after his sophomore year, and missed playing the entirety of his junior year. Those injuries lingered around last fall, and he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to play this season.
“My body’s definitely not the same that it was a few years ago,” Miller said.
According to Miller, the mental toll that his physical injuries took was the hardest part his recovery journey.
“With physical therapy, with rehab and timelines constantly getting pushed back, adjusted, changed, it becomes really mentally taxing … particularly when it’s an entire season,” Miller said. “I kind of have an understanding of why people who do miss that amount of time do not come back, because there’s just so many physical and mental hurdles that you have to clear to get to that point.”
Wilson said he doesn’t know any college athlete who cares for their body as diligently as Miller does.
“This year we have so much talent, but the one thing that we had less of is size,” Wilson said. As such, Miller has “been enormous for us.”
Hanning said he expected to start his first game as a Tiger last season, but suffered a concussion. He came back from the concussion only to break his foot. Hanning was a starter this season before he tore his MCL in late December, in the weeks leading up to conference play.
“After I got hurt, my role completely changed,” Hanning said. “I’m just happy to be back.”
Hanning said Tangaan was his high school team’s best player and was one of Merced College’s main shooters. Like Hanning, Tangaan’s role evolved in Oxy’s program.
Hanning said Tangaan is “an amazing player. He kills the practice, but he puts the team above himself, which is, I think, part of the reason why we’re so successful.”
Tangaan said Hanning, a Physics major, is probably the hardest worker he knows — and a guy who just loves the game.
“I work out with him every day and I see how hard he works, how much he cares, how much he takes care of his body on and off the court,” Tangaan said.
Miller said sports can often focus on wins and losses — and Occidental’s 19-8 record speaks to the team’s success. Being a Tiger taught him that you accomplish more working together than you can on your own.
“I think what I’m going to miss most is being around a group of exceptional, high character young men who are willing to give those sacrifices every day,” Miller said.
Contact James Miller at jmiller4@oxy.edu
