Author: Emily Phillips
The Men’s Basketball team spent the long winter break at Occidental, with just four days off from practice to visit with family and friends during the holidays. “It was a surprisingly good experience,” guard Peter Gierlach (junior) said of the break. “Hanging out with teammates created a camaraderie that has carried over into the SCIAC season and has led to some big wins.”
First-time varsity player Evan Shore (junior) agreed. “It was a lot of basketball, but it was a great time to improve individually, and as a team.” However, some of the younger players on the team expressed being slightly homesick and having little to do besides basketball.
Although the Tigers had a slow start to their season – struggling in non-conference games, as well as dropping their first two SCIAC match ups – they have started to turn their season around with five straight conference wins. This includes a one-point win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps – their first win at CMS in six years – as well as impressive victories over La Verne and Redlands.
After their recent wins, Gierlach said he is “optimistic about the chances of capturing the SCIAC championship for the third year in a row.” And he should be. After their slow start to conference play the Tigers now find themselves in a three-way tie for second place.
One of the reasons for the team’s success is co-captain Sean Anderson (junior) who was named SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week for January 28. He leads the team in points, with an average of 11.6 per game, as well as in offensive and defensive rebounds. With those statistics Anderson is among some of the conferences top competitors. He has lead the team to a number of big wins in SCIAC, including the Wednesday night 68-60 upset against Whittier College, where he had 17 points, 18 rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.
Most athletic teams have new additions to their team each season, but what makes the Men’s Basketball team different is that these new players are first-years, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Additionally, many of them have taken leading roles on the team.
Some may know Justin Goltz (senior) for leading the Tigers Football team to an undefeated regular season in his final year at Oxy, but he is also one of three captains on this year’s basketball team. Though admittedly rusty when first getting into basketball again after taking four years off of competitive play, Goltz said he quickly got back into the swing of things.
“I’ve dedicated most of my four years at Oxy to becoming a successful football player,” he said. “Football and basketball are very different games and have different mentalities. However, basketball is a game that has a natural rhythm to it… it’s something that you’ll never really forget how to do.”
Sam Kesten (sophomore) is another key addition to the varsity team this year. His three-point shooting has helped the Tigers in a number of close games, most recently the team’s January 29 victory over La Verne, where Kesten has made just over 40 percent of his attempted three-point shots, an average of 1.2 per game. Accomplishing his initial goal of making the varsity squad, Kesten now strives to get playing time in each game.
“I still have work to do, and my ball handling needs to improve if I want to succeed,” he said.
Another newcomer who has made an immediate impact is Jack Hanley (first-year). Hanley has earned himself a spot within the starting rotation through his solid contributions on both sides of the floor. Most recently his performance this past Saturday against Redlands where he put up 23 points and 5 assists.
Together with Hanley and Kesten there are eight new first-years on the team, including other contributors Jake Coppithorne (first-year), Jordan Washington (first-year) Joe Greenaway (First Year), and Blake Moore (first-year). Their teammates said that these new players have brought a lot of intensity and good work ethic to the team.
“It is a real transition year, but I think we are all learning and improving every day, and becoming a solid team,” Shore said.
With an overall record of 9-9, and 5-2 in SCIAC, the Men’s Basketball team hopes to continue their impressive winning streak this upcoming week where they will look to avenge their two earlier losses when they face Cal Lutheran on Wednesday, February 4th and Pomona-Pitzer this upcoming Saturday, February 7th.
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