By Jenny Phillips

Credit: Brad Curry

Coming off the season’s first lost, the 15th ranked Stags defeated the Occidental Tigers 75-64 at home tonight. The Stags got off to a slow start in the first quarter, going back and forth with the Tigers. Later in the first half, the Stags were able to pull away a little and go into
halftime with a 6 point lead. CMS came out strong in the second half and was able to increase their lead to 15 points. The Tigers battled hard and managed to cut the lead to 6, but were unable to hold off the Stags. Down 9 points with under 2 minutes left in the game, the Tigers started fouling. The Stags, who have struggled with free throws all season, were maintained concentration and easily held on for the win.

Mani Maceira of the Stags only had 2 points in the first half. After picking up 2 early fouls and a 3rd later on in the first half, he only saw 4 minutes in the first half. Maceira came out strong in the second half, hitting 6-7 of his field goals and managing to not foul out. Chris Blees and Tyler Gaffaney tied for Stags’ leading scorers with 14 points apiece. Gaffaney hit 3-4 on 3 pointers and was 3-3 on free throws. Gaffaney also led the Stags in rebounds with 5 tonight.

Oxy’s star Deshun McCoy had a big game as usual, picking up 21 points and 5 boards. Despite his better-than-average game, McCoy was unable to lead the Tigers to a win, as Oxy continues its 4 game conference losing streak. The Stags will play again at home on Saturday night against Cal
Lu at 7:00 pm.

Pre-game Coverage

By Nathan Falk

Tonight in Ducey Gymnasium, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags return home and will try to bounce back after suffering their first loss of the season last Saturday. The 15th best team in the nation went undefeated for 15 games before being stopped by the Whittier Poets in a double overtime thriller this weekend. The Stags (15-1, 4-1 SCIAC) will take on the Tigers of Occidental College, a team that has a lot of talent despite their 7-9 overall record (2-3 SCIAC).

Led by NCAA Preseason All-American Chris Blees and Senior Mani Maceira who has returned to CMC to finish his degree, the Stags put up the best season start in school history this year, and climbed as high as #12 in the country when they defeated rival Pomona-Pitzer last Wednesday with a buzzer-beating lefty lay-up by Sophomore Remy Pinson.

The Tigers are coming off of three consecutive conference losses and are desperately looking to end the skid. Senior Jack Hanley and Junior Deshon McCoy are bound to put up big numbers for the tigers, while sophomore Kris Montoya is back after an achilles injury that kept him out of the first 10 games of the season, so look for him to make an impact tonight.

This is the first time these two teams have faced each other this season, so look for a close, physical game as both teams look to get back in the win column. Join us live in Claremont at 7:20!

Live Broadcast

Audio and video coverage will begin at 7:20 PM as play starts at 7:30 PM. You can catch all of the live action on this page! Today’s broadcast will be brought to you by Nathan Falk (CMC ’14) and Jenny Phillips (Scripps ’12).

The CMS broadcast can be found at this link:

http://www.firstteambroadcasting.com/events/2012/01/25/mens-basketball-cms-vs-occidental/ 

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions about Sports Broadcasting at the Claremont Colleges, please email Broadcasting@ClaremontSportsConnection.com

Game Recap

by Rishi Sangani

Remy Pinson made a lay-up with 0.5 seconds left, and the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps staved off an upset bid, coming away with a 57-55 victory at cross campus rival Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday night.

The Stags (15-0, 4-0 SCIAC) came into the game ranked 12th in the nation (D3) and undefeated in conference play. Chris Blees, the Stags star power forward, tried to lead the team with 11 points and four assists and led the team with two steals. Blees, who averages over 16 points-per-game, overcame a slow first half where he only scored five points. Sophomore guard Tyler Gaffaney scored 11 points, including a huge three-pointer with 27.7 seconds in the game to give the Stags a 54-50 lead, a shot which solidified the Stags win and gave them their largest lead of the night. The Stags had only seven points off their usually deep bench, compared to 26 by Pomona-Pitzer.

The Sagehens (8-6, 3-1 SCIAC) battled back and forth with the favored Stags, hitting 44% (8-18) behind the arc. The three leading scorers for the Sagehens were all freshmen: Kyle McAndrews (9 points), Michael Cohen (12 points), and Jack Klulas (13 points).

After Gaffaney’s three pointer, Sagehen forward Jake Klewer made a lay-up with 20.1 seconds left to make it 54-52, and Pomona-Pitzer followed with a quick foul on Blees. Blees made one of two three free-throws to increase the Stags lead to three. After pushing the ball up-court, Coach Katsiaficas called a time-out with 8.9 seconds left. On the inbound, Pomona freshman Jack Klukas, left open on the far side of the court, nailed a three-pointer with 6.1 seconds left to tie the game at 55 apiece, but a quick inbound pass let Pinson take the ball from baseline to baseline and make the game-winning left-handed lay-up.

These two rivals will play each other once more in conference play on Feburary 21st, this time at CMS’ Ducey Gymnasium. Each team continues SCIAC play on Saturday, with the Sagehens hosting La Verne (4-11, 1-3), while the Stags visit Whittier (11-4, 3-1).

Pre Game Coverage

By Anderson Wright

Live Broadcast

There will be two broadcasts tonight. The CMS broadcast is audio-only, and coverage will begin at 7:20 PM as play starts at 7:30 PM. You can catch all of the live action on this page! Today’s broadcast will be brought to you by Nathan Falk (CMC ’14) and Anderson Wright (Pomona ’12).

The link to the CMS broadcast can be found at this link:

http://www.firstteambroadcasting.com/events/2012/01/18/mens-basketball-cms-vs-pomona-pitzer/

The Pomona-Pitzer broadcast has both audio and video. Nathan Barnett (Pomona ’11) and Rishi Sangani (Pomona ’15). Coverage will begin at 7:15 for the 7:30 start and the link is:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Pomona-Pitzer-Athletics

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions about Sports Broadcasting at the Claremont Colleges, please email Broadcasting@ClaremontSportsConnection.com

If you missed our recap of last semester, you should check it out here.

As always, be sure to “Like” the CMC Forum on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @cmcforum.

We are looking forward to another great semester and have a lot of great things in store for you!

Have a great semester! Welcome back!

It was a busy semester at CMC.

CMC moved up in the rankings to the 9^th best Liberal Arts College in the country.

The Kravis Center officially opened to students and faculty.  The Living Room (affectionately known as ‘the Kube’) attracted students’ attention  after some technical difficulties and the administration’s initial decision to limit access to students. This was all before the Kube became home to one Pomona student’s temporary interpretive dance studio.

The fall semester also celebrated and embodied student leadership at CMC.  Students started a movement to do a better job of cleaning up after parties and led an effort to change our campus conversation about sex and gender norms. Trying bridge the gap between our Building Attendants and their residents, the Forum got to know some of CMC’s friendliest staff members. CMCers led a campaign to be more environmentally friendly on campus and coordinated a day of reflection on 9/11. Others took the lead in social activity planning, expanding student involvement with Dean of Students and creating the College Programming Board (check out the big name they are bringing to campus). Student initiative also brought the popular TED talks to the Claremont Colleges, hosting a TEDx conference in September.

CMC also faced a number of challenges in the fall of 2011: an unexpected over-enrollment of students forced the conversion of two popular study spaces into four-person rooms and a large number of students returning to CMC in the spring from fall study abroad programs led to an on-campus housing crisis.  The story behind the “Marks Squatter” brought some humor to a rather-serious-but-now resolved issue of on-campus visitors.

The Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College was hard at work all semester, advocating for students on issues such as increased study spaces, building a better quality of life, and providing some much needed snack time.

The Occupy Movement swept the nation this semester and arrived at the doorstep of our Claremont Colleges. Students were active in the protests in Claremont, Los Angeles, and the rest of the nation. Indeed, two Pitzer students were arrested for their involvement in the Occupy LA protests.  Political dialogue was alive and well, especially towards the end of the semester, when CMC welcomed former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to our campus. Many 5C students, however, had a different plan in mind and formed an “unwelcoming” party for Rice’s visit. The planned protests forced a change in venue for Rice’s speech, which triggered an outcry from students. While the protests stirred up quite a controversy, the civility and political discourse throughout the evening exemplified students’ diversity of thought, without provoking violence or hostilities.

The Forum sat down with our very own college president Pamela Gann and discussed her current and future projects for the school, which included a revamp of the beloved North Quad and expanding the new Center for Civic Engagement.

But it wasn’t all business this semester at the Forum. Speaking with Paul Zak, a.k.a Dr. Love, the Forum got to hear the Doctor’s thoughts on love, life, and how giving 8 hugs a day will make the world a better place. Those student globe-trotters enjoying their study abroad experience took time to write home to CMC and share their experiences from far-off lands such as Washington D.C., South America, Italy and Oman. And for those bright-eyed freshmen, returning students and Dean Spellman gave them their two cents (sometimes musically) on how to navigate their first semester and discover how great this college really is.

We uncovered the top 5 companies that hire CMC students, brought Words with Friends lovers the 10 most useful Scrabble words, and suggested 8 classes to students that might have overlooked some academic treasures. Students contributed to the ongoing discussion on topics such as art, film, pop culture, public radio, music and concerts. And despite the delicious unveiling of a new Ath menu, the Forum offered some tips on how to stay healthy, even in the face of all those Rice Krispie treats.

A-Mitch even appeared for an encore.

ASCMC hosted a number of events this semester, improving on past traditions—Monte Carlo—and even starting some new ones—The Boardwalk Empire party and No Shave November. We know you can’t wait for the Wedding Party next spring—and neither can we. Expect even bigger surprises next semester.

Our tech guru offered some awesome tips on his #CMCTech blog, including advice on how to make your work faster and more effective, thoughts on the Semester in Silicon Valley Program and even a holiday gift guide (it’s never too late to get that perfect present).

The Forum also better incorporated sports into our publication. The Forum now offers live broadcasts of all home CMS athletic games, complete with video and audio from student broadcasters.  We celebrated triumph, defeat and the utter domination at SCIACs.  The publication also took and in-depth look at sports at CMC and uncovered how SCIAC rules hurt CMS recruiting high school athletes and what many are doing to save the Intramural program.

Outside of the CMC bubble, the Forum checked in with our beloved Claremont village, celebrating the once-in-a-century Zipcode Day (9/17/11=91711) and partaking in the delicious festivities at the California Beer Festival.

It was a busy semester and time for reflecting has just begun. First, we would like to thank you, our readers, for your support, comments, advice, kindness, crudeness, humor and thoughtful discussion. But, we have one more request. The Forum has grown considerably in the last semester but we want to know how we can continue to improve. Below is a short survey that we hope you will fill out so we can make this publication stronger. We look forward to hearing your constructive thoughts, suggestions and comments.

The Forum wishes you a wonderful break and a restful holiday. We promise to bring you the best in news, opinions, and insights from Claremont College students as we enter our spring semester. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading with us this fall, and we’ll see you in 2012!

by Crawford Taylor

The CMS Stags stayed true to their perfect record (9-0) tonight as they routed the Point Loma Sea Lions (4-3) 65-49.

The first half saw an outstanding three point performance by CMS.  The Stags earned about half of their points from beyond the arc with contributions from four players.  Their 50% three point percentage complemented their 48.3% overall shooting percentage.  On the other side, the Sea Lions struggled from the field, shooting fewer than 40%.  To make things worse, the Sea Lions were outrebounded 17-12 and committed more turnovers.  Both teams however did not get to the free throw line often, with both of them going 3-4 on the half.

The Stags continued their dominant performance in the second half, but began to work the inside instead.  This led to easier baskets and more free throw opportunities.  At one point the Sea Lions were able to cut the lead to under 10, but it ballooned to over 20 points before the Stags emptied their bench.  The Sea Lions continued to turn the ball over and miss lay-ups.  They finished the game with a 32.7% shooting percentage, roughly 15% below the Stags.

The key stat of the game is CMS’ 50% from three point range, which oddly enough was higher than their overall percentage of 48.3%.  The Stags had four players in double figures; Chris Blees led the way with 18, followed by Remy Pinson with 11, Manny Maceira with 10, and Tyler Gaffaney also with 10.  The Sea Lions had no players with double digits figures and their leading scorer Jake Johnston only had 9 after being limited to 2 points in the second half.

The CMS Stags will play Babson College on December 30.

The live audio broadcast was brought to you by Crawford Taylor (CMC ’15)

Pre Game Coverage

By Crawford Taylor

Tonight at 7:30pm, the CMS Stags will be taking on the Sea Lions of Point Loma Nazarene University.  The Stags, who are coming off of a win against Chapman University, will be looking to build on their perfect 8-0 record.  The Sea Lions are currently 4-2 and will be looking forward to a break in conference play; they have lost their last two games to GSAC opponents.

Live Broadcast

The live audio and video coverage will begin at 7:20 PM as play starts at 7:30 PM. You can catch all of the live action on this page! Today’s broadcast will be brought to you by Crawford Taylor (CMC ’15).

You can see the video on the embedded player below! or this link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cms-athletics

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions about Sports Broadcasting at the Claremont Colleges, please email Broadcasting@ClaremontSportsConnection.com

Crawford Taylor

Tonight at 7pm, the CMS Stags will be taking on the Mustangs of Master’s college in Ducey Gymnasium. Both teams are currently undefeated (CMS 5-0, Master’s 6-0), but that will change after tonight. Be sure to come out and support CMS in their bid to extend their winning streak.

Post Game Coverage

by Crawford Taylor

The CMS Stags remain undefeated (6-0) after tonight’s win against Master’s College (6-1) 71-65.

The game started off looking like it was going to be determined inside, with the first 8 points of the game being scored in the paint. However, CMS was able to open its outside game and take a commanding first half lead. The key player of the half was junior guard Cody Mivshek who had 18 of his game-high 21 points, 9 of which came from perfect shooting beyond the arc. Junior Forward Kevin Sullivan added two threes of his own, contributing to the Stag’s outstanding performance from downtown. The team finished the half with a twenty-point lead on 56% shooting. On the other side, Master’s College struggled to get going, getting outrebounded 20-10 and only shooting 34.6%.

The tone of the game changed entirely in the second half as Master’s College orchestrated an impressive run to bring the game within 4 points. Key factors were their ability to shoot 57.1% from the field and 58.3% from beyond the arc while holding CMS to 20% and 16.7% respectively. Unfortunately for Master’s College, they accumulated too many fouls, which resulted in double bonus for CMS with five minutes to go. This had huge consequences, as CMS made 16 free throws in the half on 85.7% shooting. Master’s College got as close as two points, but clutch free throws from sophomore guard Tyler Gaffaney staved off the final push.

CMS finished the game with more turnovers and a lower shooting percentage from the field than their opponents, but led in other important categories. In addition to shooting 83.9% from the line, the Stags outrebounded Master’s College 37-25. Another factor working against Master’s College were their 22 personal fouls. Senior guard Cammon Anthony had 20 points to lead Master’s College and was aided by junior guard Leif Karlberg who had 17 on the night. CMS had four players with double-digit figures, with Chris Blees registering a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds).

The CMS Stags will travel to San Diego Christian on December 5.

The live audio broadcast was brought to you by Crawford Taylor (CMC ’15).

You can see the video on the embedded player below! or this link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cms-athletics

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions about Sports Broadcasting at the Claremont Colleges, please email Broadcasting@ClaremontSportsConnection.com

As most of you already know (they’re seniors, they’re allowed to brag about it), 78 Claremont McKenna College Seniors have officially dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s on those dreaded theses. The end of thesis means the beginning of a years-old tradition: the senior fountain party. Do not be alarmed if you see a crowd of swimwear-clad seniors dancing around the Hub fountain this afternoon as they celebrate the end of thesis and engage in general debauchery.

As a warning to all students: stay clear of the fountain if you do not wish to arrive in class  as if you forgot to undress before showering this morning. In other words, take a different route to your west campus classes or be mindful of the watery dangers nearby.

SENIORS: Congrats on a job well-done and try not to seek out expensive-looking accessories or scared freshman to abuse.  HAVE FUN!  And don’t do this.

Congratulations Seniors!

by Matty Kwok
Men’s Pre Game
CMS is expected to win the SCIAC this season. And so far, they lived up to their billing. Ask the Afghan national men’s basketball team, Trinity, Southwestern and Pacifica, teams that lost to the Stags by at least 9 points. It’s even more impressive given that the two games were on the road.
What is the reason for such a good start? Beat-em-up defense and a decent offense. In those three games the Stags shot around 47% from the field and limited opponents to under 41%. The Stags also outrebounded opponents to death, 38-22, hence explaining why the Stags are so dominant despite averaging a modest 69 points per contest.

Out of those 69 points, nearly half of which come from 2 players: Chris Blees and Mani Maceira. Blees leads the team with 17 points and 7 boards a contest, while Maceira sits at 13 points and 6 boards. Both players form an incredible tandem in the frontcourt.

Meanwhile, their opponent, St. Olaf, has just recently begun their basketball season, so it is difficult to evaluate them in this matchup. They’ve played only 2 games coming in, the 71-50 win coming over Betheny. Sterling Neville had 17 points on 8 shots (2 of them from 3 point range) while also having 8 rebounds. All-freshman pick Connor Gunderson didn’t slack off either, scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 boards. Sterling Nielson had 14 points and 6 boards.

The game will be played at Rains Gym in the Pomona Campus at 5 pm.

 Women’s Pre Game

After falling to UW-La Crosse in their debut game, the Athenas managed a 1 point win over Il. College. The CMS women’s basketball team hope to produce the latter result, not the former, as they take on UC Santa Cruz in the David Wells Classic.

Out of 58.5 points per game for CMS, over half of them come from 2 players: Frannie Hemmelgarn averages 17 points while also grabbing 7 boards per game, and Kimberly Scamman averages 13.5 points per game and has 11 steals total. One concern for the Athenas concerns their ability to put the ball through the basket. So far they are averaging 34% from the floor and an anemic 19% from 3 point land.

If it makes the Athenas any happier, the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz aren’t a great scoring team either. They shoot under under 30% from the floor in their 3 contests. Meanwhile, there is only one player that averages double figures: Sarah Mackey, who averaged 11 points and 7.7 rebounds a game. Both of them lead the team. Leah Parrish averages 7 points and 5 rebounds per game.

The game will be played at Ducey Gym in the CMC Campus at 7 pm.
Live Broadcast

The live audio and video coverage will begin at 4:55 PM as play starts at 5 PM. You can catch all of the live action on this page! Today’s broadcasts will be brought to you by Matty Kwok (Pitzer ’15).

You can see the video on the embedded player below! or this link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cms-athletics

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions about Sports Broadcasting at the Claremont Colleges, please email Broadcasting@ClaremontSportsConnection.com

by James Havlicek

The CMS men’s basketball squad pulled off a 71-62 victory in a hard fought, very physical game against the Gladiators of Pacifica College on Tuesday night, leaving the Stags with a now promising record of 2-0 in non-conference play.

The first half saw the Stags somewhat struggling to find their groove against a small (9-player roster) yet scrappy and athletic team. Pacifica guards Quincy Spencer (11 pts total) and Alex Brandon (18 points total) played swarming defense and combined for 24 of their team’s 32 first half points. The Gladiators initially found themselves shooting 60% from the field as compared to the Stags, who shot roughly 30%.

In the second half, however, the Stags came out with a burning passion (perhaps some inspirational words from Coach Scalmanini did the trick). Their shots started to fall, as the team improved to 50% from the field in the latter half, and their hard-nosed man-to-man defense slowed the momentum of the Gladiators. Junior forward Kevin Sullivan, who scored 3 in the first half, set Ducey ablaze connecting on 3 out of his 4 3-point attempts in the second half. Sullivan ended with 14 points. Post-graduate captain Chris Blees put up 16 points and grabbed a whopping 14 rebounds, and Mani Maceira also contributed 16 points and 7 rebounds.

The stags will be in Austin, Texas this weekend for the Southwestern Classic, facing squads from Trinity and Southwestern.

Pre Game Coverage

by Nate Falk

In their home opener of the 2011-2012 season, the Stags will take on the Pacifica University Gladiators. Fueled by their young guards, experienced forwards, and preseason All-American Chris Blees (out last season with a torn ACL), the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags look to capture their 4th consecutive SCIAC championship this season. After soundly defeating the Afghanistan National Team in their only scheduled exhibition game on October 29th by twenty points, the Stags appear ready to battle the Gladiators tonight in Ducey Gymnasium.

Live Broadcast

The live audio and video coverage will begin at 6:55 PM as play starts at 7 PM. You can catch all of the live action on this page! Today’s broadcast will be brought to you by Nate Falk (CMC ’14) and James Havlicek (CMC ’14).

You can see the video on the embedded player below! or this link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cms-athletics

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions about Sports Broadcasting at the Claremont Colleges, please email Broadcasting@ClaremontSportsConnection.com

The Claremont-Mudd Scripps Stags are set to take on Redlands University tonight in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament. After defeating the Chapman Panthers 1-0 yesterday, the Stags face off against the Bulldogs for the fourth time this season. Redlands won both regular season match-ups, but CMS bested Relands in a Penalty Shootout (4-2) to become the SCIAC tournament champion for the third year in a row. The winner of today’s game advances to the NCAA third round game against Calvin College on either Friday or Saturday.

Live Broadcast

The live audio and video coverage will begin at 4:50 PM as play starts at 5:00 PM. You can catch all of the live action on this page in the embedded media player! Today’s broadcast will be brought to you by Ari Zyskind (CMC ’12).

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions about Sports Broadcasting at the Claremont Colleges, please email Broadcasting@ClaremontSportsConnection.com