Los Angeles, Calif. - Sophomore guard Michael Cohen (Tarzana, Calif.) had his first career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team clinched a SCIAC bid with a 76-62 road win over Occidental on Saturday evening.

The victory improves Pomona-Pitzer's overall record to 14-9, including 9-6 in the SCIAC. The Sagehens are tied with Whittier for third place, who they meet in their regular season finale on Tuesday night at Voelkel Gymnasium. The winner of that game will be the third seed and will face second-seeded CMS in one semifinal, while the loser will go to top-seeded Redlands. Occidental concludes its season at 7-18 overall and 2-14 in the SCIAC.

Cohen knocked down five three-pointers on his way to 18 points, tying him for team-high honors with senior guard Xavyr Moss (Federal Way, Wash.). Sophomore guard Kyle McAndrews (Seattle, Wash.) chipped in with 13 points and seven assists as all three starting guards were in double figures.

The Sagehens almost put all five starters in double figures, but both junior forwards, Jake Klewer (Tucson, Ariz.) and John Weiss (Cleveland, Ohio) had nine points and nine rebounds apiece.

Pomona-Pitzer took its first double digit lead of the first half at 28-18 on a McAndrews three-pointer. Occidental answered right back with a 9-1 run to pull within 29-27 with 5:20 left in the half, but Moss had three straight lay-ups to make the score 35-27. After a Ryan Chong three-pointer pulled Occidental within 38-32, Cohen and Klewer closed out the first half with baskets to give the Sagehens a 42-32 lead at the break.

A quick start to the second half gave Pomona-Pitzer its largest lead at 52-36 with 16;21 left on a Weiss three-point play. The Sagehens stalled for a while, as Occidental closed within 52-44 on a Kris Montoya lay-up with 12:47 left, and had two chances to cut it even closer. However, Cohen assisted on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Adrian Brandon (Seattle, Wash.) to end a five-minute drought, and Brandon returned the favor on a Cohen three-pointer 33 seconds later to make the score 58-44.

Montoya made three foul shots to give Occidental one last breath of hope with 3:32 remaining, cutting the lead to 10 points at 66-56, but Cohen hit the dagger on the next possession with a four-point play on his fifth trey of the night to immediately push the lead to 14.

The Whittier game on Tuesday night will be the final regular season home game for Pomona-Pitzer's four seniors, Po Grant (Brookline, Mass.), Harrison Green (New York, N.Y.), Brett Lingle (Palm Desert, Calif.) and Donald Okpalugo (Manchester, Eng.). Moss is a senior academically, but plans to return as a graduate student next year for his final year of eligibility.