EAGLE ROCK, Calif. - Samuel Gibbs tied the score on a driving layup with three seconds left in regulation to tie the score, and Will Householter scored eight points in overtime, as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's basketball team escaped Occidental with a 73-68 win on Wednesday evening at Rush Gymnasium. 

With the win, CMS now stands at 21-2 overall and 12-2 in the SCIAC and maintains a share of first place in the loss column with Redlands. Occidental falls to 16-6 and 9-4 in the SCIAC, missing a chance to pull into a tie with CMS in the loss column after leading by double digits in the second half. 

CMS scored only 21 points in the first half and trailed 28-21, before Occidental opened the second half with a three-pointer to get it to 10. The Tigers had 10-point leads on five different occasions, the last coming at 42-32 with 12:47 to go. 

Joey Kennedy, though, started a 6-0 run for the Stags, which was followed by a Householter jumper and two foul shots from Cahal Connolly. CMS finally pulled in front for the first time at 59-58 on two Gibbs foul shots with 1:26 left, but Occidental answered with a three-pointer from Atticus Boba with 1:07 left. 

Gibbs got a defensive rebound with 18 seconds left to give CMS a possession down by two, and James Frye came up with a key offensive rebound in the closing seconds, before getting the ball to Gibbs for the tying basket. 

Occidnetal scored first in overtime, but Kennedy answered to tie it up. Householter then scored the next eight CMS points, the last coming on a jumper in the paint with 1:08 left to make the score 71-65. Occidental hit a three-pointer and had a chance to tie it with a three with five-seconds left, but couldn't convert and Frye grabbed the defensive rebound and made two foul shots to seal it. 

Householter finished with 20 points to lead the Stags, while Kennedy added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Gibbs finished with a season-high 12. 

CMS will be back in action when it faces Pomona-Pitzer on the road on Saturday at 2 p.m.