Claremont, Calif. - The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team can clinch a SCIAC Tournament bid when it hosts Occidental on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
The Sagehens come into the week tied for second in the SCIAC at 8-3 with Whittier, two games behind first-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, which is 10-1. The top four teams qualify for SCIAC postseason berths, and Pomona-Pitzer currently has a three-game lead on fifth place Occidental and Cal Lutheran (5-6) with three games left to play (Redlands is in fourth at 6-5).
Although the Sagehens are just one win away from clinching a trip to the SCIAC's, the final stretch is challenging, as they host Whittier on Saturday and end the regular season at CMS next Tuesday. The team would clearly prefer to secure its postseason spot as early as possible and spend the last week jockeying for seeding then putting itself in a must-win situation at CMS in the finale.
Pomona-Pitzer inched closer to the postseason on Saturday, when it captured a 74-63 road win over La Verne. The Sagehens trailed 61-57 with 5:30 to go, but then went on a 17-0 run to pull away down the stretch. Sophomore forward Jake Klewer (Tucson, Ariz. - pictured) put the Sagehens ahead to stay with a reverse lay-up in traffic, and also added a key defensive rebound and two foul shots to help seal it when the Leopards were still within five points, finishing the day with 12 points and nine boards.
Freshman guard Michael Cohen (Tarzana, Calif.) also stepped up down the stretch for the Sagehens, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the second half, all of which came in the final 10:30 of the contest. His driving lay-up and foul shot stretched the Pomona-Pitzer lead to five points with just under two minutes to play (66-61) and put the pressure on La Verne to come back.
The first meeting against Occidental on Jan. 28 saw the Tiger defense dominate the game in a 64-56 victory, as they handed Pomona-Pitzer one of its three conference losses. The Sagehens shot just 3-30 from the floor in the first half of that contest, as Occidental took a 24-15 lead into the break. Pomona-Pitzer even started the game 2-for-5, making it 1-for-25 from the floor in the last 16 minutes of the first half.
The Sagehens scored 41 points in the second half as they tried to fight their way back in it, but they dug themselves too deep a hole and came up short. Senior guard Evan Zahniser (Mercer Island, Wash.) stepped up in the second half and finished with 14 points to lead Pomona-Pitzer, but Jack Hanley (16 points) and Conrad Liebowitz (10 points, 10 rebounds) helped Occidental hold on for the win.
After facing Occidental, the Sagehens will have only one more regular season home game, against Whittier on Saturday, which will be Senior Day for Zahniser, Danny Brown (Eugene, Ore.), R.J. Maki (Claremont, Calif.) and Greg Wright (Oakland, Calif.).
Live streaming will be available for both home games, courtesy of the Claremont Sports Connection. Links to video and stats will all be available on www.sagehens.com on game days.
