Claremont, Calif. - The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team hosts Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the latest installment of their inter-consortium rivalry, which typically produces overflow crowds and dramatic finishes.
A year ago at Voelkel Gymnasium, the Sagehens trailed by three with less than 10 seconds remaining, before tying the score on a three-pointer off a crosscourt pass with six seconds on the clock. CMS, though, took the inbounds pass and Remy Pinson went coast to coast for the winning lay-up with 0.6 seconds left.
In the regular season rematch last year at CMS, Pinson almost beat the Sagehens again, as his three-pointer with 10 seconds left put the Stags up by two. However, current sophomore Kyle McAndrews (Seattle, Wash.) was fouled in the act of shooting a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds, and made all three shots to give Pomona-Pitzer a 51-50 win.
The rubber game would go to the Stags, as they defeated the Sagehens in the SCIAC Championship game at Ducey Gym. Pomona-Pitzer rallied from a huge second half deficit to cut the lead to three points (with the ball) in the final minute, behind three late three-pointers from current senior Po Grant (Brookline, Mass.) but the Stags were able to hold on and advance to the NCAA Division III tournament.
This time around, CMS is in second place and Pomona-Pitzer is in third as Redlands currently tops the SCIAC standings with one week left. After falling on the road to Cal Lutheran on Saturday, the Sagehens cannot catch the Stags in the standings, but each team still has a lot at stake, beyond the inter-consortium bragging rights.
CMS is one game behind Redlands and faces the Bulldogs on Saturday, which means that the Stags can still control their own destiny for at least a share of the regular season title if they defeat Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday night. The Sagehens, meanwhile, are close to clinching a postseason bid (the top four finishers in the SCIAC receive bids to the tournament), but still have some work to do.
A win over CMS could be enough to clinch a bid on Wednesday night, if Cal Lutheran also loses to Redlands. A loss means that Pomona-Pitzer would likely need to win at Occidental on Saturday to avoid a must-win against Whittier at home on Tuesday in the regular season finale.
In the first meeting this year, sophomore guard Jack Grodahl had 28 points off the CMS bench, hitting eight straight shots during one stretch (six threes and two long jumpers) as the Stags won 65-58 at Ducey Gymnasium on Jan. 23. McAndrews had 22 points to lead the Sagehens in the loss.
McAndrews currently leads the Sagehens with 14.9 points per game, while Michael Cohen (Tarzana, Calif.) is also in double figures at 10.7 points per game. Junior forward Jake Klewer (Tucson, Ariz.) would also be in double figures in scoring, as he currently averages 9.8 points and a SCIAC-leading 9.1 rebounds, but his stats are weighed down by the Caltech game at home on Feb. 2, when he was injured 15 seconds into the contest and did not return.
CMS is led by its deep backcourt, as senior guard Cody Mivshek tops the Stags at 13.8 points per game, followed by Grodahl at 12.1 points per game, while Pinson is barely shy of double figures at 9.6 points per game. Forwards Kevin Sullivan (9.8 ppg) and Shelby Lane (7.0 ppg) also contribute to a balanced offense.
The Pomona-Pitzer vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps rivalry is one of the most original in all of college sports. The athletic departments are made up of student-athletes from five colleges (Pomona, Pitzer, Claremont-McKenna, Harvey Mudd, and Scripps) in the same consortium (The Claremont Colleges), which are all within one square mile and which all share the same library, bookstore, and many of the same student services.
Although each college has its own separate academic program and degrees, students can freely cross over and take courses at any of the other colleges in the consortium. All five colleges are ranked in the top 50 liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News & World Report, with Pomona fourth, Claremont-McKenna 10th, Harvey Mudd 12th, Scripps 24th and Pitzer 43rd.
The two gymnasiums are separated by approximately 1700 feet (roughly 1/3 of a mile), one on the south side of Sixth Street (Pomona-Pitzer's Voelkel Gymnasium), and the other on the north side (CMS' Ducey Gymnasium), and the teams walk to each other's gyms for the game. The crowds are usually split close to 50-50 by rooting interest, regardless of the gym, but unlike any other rivals in the country, the students yelling at each other during the game will end up sharing the same library and same classrooms the next day.
Many times, the players on opposing teams will even be in the same classes, including last year, when SCIAC Player of the Year Chris Blees (CMS) and Pomona-Pitzer's R.J. Maki, were both fifth-year players attending Claremont Graduate University, taking many of the same classes together. Pomona-Pitzer Head Coach Charles Katsiaficas is in his 25th year at the helm, and in one of his first seasons, the captains of the opposing teams were lab partners in the same science class.
The Claremont Sports Connection, a five-colleges broadcasting club, will be broadcasting the game live. Links to live video and stats can be found at www.sagehens.com either by clicking the 'live broadcasts" button on the home page, or by going to the Men's Basketball schedule.
