Box Score CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team extended its win streak to 11 games after their 86-74 win over Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponent Redlands on Saturday afternoon at Voelkel Gymnasium.
Season Impact: With the win, the Sagehens improve to 11-2 this season and unbeaten in SCIAC play at 4-0. The Sagehens have not lost to a Division III opponent this season so far with their two losses to Division II opponent Biola and NAIA opponent Westmont. This win also marks No. 499 for Head Coach Charles Katsiaficas in his 33rd season at the helm of the Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball program.
The Sagehens were led by senior Micah Elan who notched his third 30-point game of the season with 32 in the win. Senior Jack Boyle had a career night with a high of 23 points and nine rebounds as well for the Sagehens.
A magnificent display of shooting in the game between the Bulldogs and the Sagehens with the Sagehens shooting an even 50% from the field but connected on 52% of its three-point attempts while Redlands also shot well from beyond the arc at 45.7%. Pomona-Pitzer outrebounded Redlands 42-29 while both team scored 24 points inside the paint.
Redlands notched the first basket of the game but the Sagehens responded with seven-straight points to take a 7-2 lead early on in the ball game. The Sagehens maintained their early lead in the first half but the Bulldogs chipped away and got within two points towards the midway point of the first half at 18-16 and forced the Sagehens to take a timeout with 10:09 left in the first half.
Pomona-Pitzer quickly widened its lead to 23-16 during the next minute of play, but Redlands got the lead down to a one-possession game at 29-26 with 4:24 left to go. Pomona-Pitzer was able to stay on top in the first half thanks to first-half hero Jack Boyle who tallied 13 points to lead the Sagehens into the locker room with a 32-28 lead.
Redlands got hot in the second half, mainly from three-point range, and cut into the Sagehens lead early on. The Bulldogs erased their first-half deficit completely and tied the game at 43-43 with 14:38 left to go. Redlands eventually went on to take a one-point lead at 48-47 with 12:28 left to go, but the Sagehens answered with a 15-0 in the next six minutes of the game and took a 62-48 lead after a pair of Elan free throws.
Redlands tried to make a comeback with some good three-point shooting, but the 15-point run was too much to overcome as the Sagehens took care of the Bulldogs at home.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next host SCIAC opponent Whittier as Coach Katsiaficas seeks win No. 500 on Wednesday, January 15th at 7:00 p.m.
