Los Angeles, Calif. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team shot 3-30 in the first half to dig itself a big hole and could not fight its way out of it as it dropped a 64-56 road decision to Occidental on Saturday evening.

The loss drops the Sagehens to 10-7 on the season and 5-2 in the SCIAC, dropping out of a tie for first place in the league, as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (6-1) took over sole possession of first place when it came from behind for a home win over Cal Lutheran. Occidental improves to 8-10 overall and 3-4 in the SCIAC with the win.

Pomona-Pitzer made three of its 11 three-point attempts in the first half, but was 0-19 from two-point territory, as it trailed 24-15 at halftime. The Sagehens actually led 10-4 early after a pair of three-pointers and four foul shots, but shot just 1-25 in the final 15 minutes of the opening stanza, with the one make a desperation three-pointer from Danny Brown (Eugene, Ore.) as the shot clock expired.

Occidental came out in the second half with a strong offensive flurry, with five baskets in its first six possessions to get the lead up to 34-17. The Sagehens hit back-to-back three-pointers to get back to within 11, but Occidental answered with a 6-0 run of its own and then took its largest lead at 52-34 with 5:12 to play on a three-pointer from Jack Hanley.

Pomona-Pitzer finally came to life with a 9-0 run, as a deep three-pointer from freshman Michael Cohen (Tarzana, Calif.) and a steal and lay-up from senior guard Evan Zahniser (Mercer Island, Wash. - pictured) made the score 52-43 with 2:43 to go. Two foul shots from freshman guard Kyle McAndrews (Seattle, Wash.) got the Sagehens as close as 54-47 with 1:56 left, but Kris Montoya hit a 20-foot jumper as the shot clock expired to end the comeback hopes.

Zahniser was the only bright spot on offense with 14 points on 6-10 shooting for the Sagehens, which shot 14-30 in the second half after its 3-30 first half. Hanley had a game-high 16 points for Occidental, while DeShun McCoy added 12 and Conrad Leibowitz added 10 points and 10 rebounds.  

Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action when it travels to Caltech on Wednesday.