CLAREMONT, Calif. - Nick Kennedy broke a 9-9 tie with 2:32 to go, and Gavin Netherton followed with a key insurance goal as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team fought off a challenge from Occidental and earned an 11-9 win on Wednesday evening at Axelrood Pool. 

The win was the ninth in a row for the Stags, who improve to 13-4 overall and 3-0 in the SCIAC, while Occidental slips to 4-13 overall and 1-3 in league play with the loss. 

Seniors Ivey Gehring and Donovan Davidson each had two goals for the Stags, while Kennedy had one goal and four assists, giving him 54 goals and 54 assists on the season, while adding four steals on defense. 

The upset-minded Tigers took a 5-4 lead into halftime, scoring five straight goals after CMS went ahead 3-0, before Weston Hartel scored for the Stags before the break. Gehring started the second half with two straight goals to put CMS in front 6-5, and Jeffrey Koretz and Christopher Petrossian scored goals to give CMS an 8-6 advantage. 

Occidental came back to tie it 9-9 with 2:56 left on a goal from Quin Concannon, but Kennedy answered with a crucial goal on the next possession to make it a 10-9 game.

Netherton's goal with 45 seconds left off a cross-pool pass from Kennedy gave CMS a two-goal lead, and a field block on the next Occidental possession from Davidson effectively ended it. 

CMS will be back in action on Saturday when it travels to Redlands for an 11 a.m. contest.