Claremont, Calif. - Pomona-Pitzer started the second half with a 24-7 run to break the game open and cruise to an 84-75 win over UC Santa Cruz on Friday evening on the first day of the David Wells Classic at Voelkel Gymnasium.

Junior guard Kyle McAndrews (pictured) led the way with 25 points on 8-12 shooting for the Sagehens, who improve to 2-2 on the season, including 2-0 against NCAA Division III opponents (the two losses were to NAIA schools Biola and Westmont). UC Santa Cruz falls to 2-3 with the loss.

UC Santa Cruz led for almost the entire first half after jumping out to a 17-7 lead early. Junior guard Michael Cohen righted the ship for Pomona-Pitzer with two consecutive threes, and the Sagehens took a one point lead (38-37) into the break on a foul shot from senior guard Xavyr Moss with one second left.

The second half then saw Pomona-Pitzer take control as Moss hit a three-pointer on the first possession, and McAndrews converted a fast break lay-up to make the score 43-37 just 38 seconds into the second stanza. The teams traded points until a 13-0 run turned a 49-44 lead into a commanding 62-44 advantage with 12:29 to play. Moss and McAndrews hit back-to-back threes 28 seconds apart to force a UC Santa Cruz timeout, and Cohen capped off the run with a three-pointer with 12:29 left.

The Sagehens led by as many as 20, but the Banana Slugs were able to cut the lead down to 73-63 with 3:00 to go on a Spencer Wells three-pointer, and then down to 77-69 on two Wells foul shots with 1:54 to go. However, senior forward Jake Klewer had a big put-back with 1:17 left to end any comeback hopes.

Pomona-Pitzer finished with 54 points out of its three starting guards, as Cohen finished with 16 (including four three-pointers) and Moss had 13 (with four three-pointers) to support McAndrews. Senior forward John Weiss had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Klewer finished with eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds, as the Sagehens finished with a 51-33 edge on the boards.

The Sagehens will be back in action on the second day of the David Wells Classic tomorrow when they face Johns Hopkins at 5 p.m. at CMS. Johns Hopkins defeated CMS 67-65 in the first game of the day at Voelkel Gymnasium on Friday.