Box Score CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team came away with a 81-74 win over Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponent Caltech on Saturday night at the Linde Activities Center (LAC).
Season Impact: with the win, the Sagehens improve to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in SCIAC play.
The Sagehens had all five starters in double digits for scoring. Matthew Eberle led the way with 25 points. Brendan Mora earned a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, Pete Boyle added 15 points as well while Joe Cookson and Johnny King added 10 points with King also getting a double-double with 10 rebounds in the win.
The Sagehens and Beavers shot exactly the same from three with each team going 9-24 at a 37-.5% clip. Caltech actually shot a better percentage from the floor with 43.8% to the Sagehens' 41.8%. Both teams had 30 points in the paint and six turnovers each, but the Sagehens outrebounded Caltech 43-33 and had 19 second chance points while the Beavers only came away with six.
Caltech came out in the first half on fire and jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead within the first three minutes of the contest. The Sagehens had to play catchup for the remainder of the half, but never allowed the lead to exceed seven points. The Sagehens battled all the way back and tied the game at 25-25 after a pair of Cookson free-throws with 6:06 left to play in the half. The Sagehens went on to take their first lead of the game at 28-27 after a Boyle three and a late surge of offense for the Sagehens gave them a 38-37 lead heading into halftime.
Both teams kept it close in the early stages of the second half with the lead changing hands throughout the first eight minutes of the half until the Beavers sparked a 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 63-54 with 8:40 left to play. The Sagehens came roaring back with a 19-2 run thanks in part to some sharp shooting by Mora and Eberle to take a 73-65 lead with 3:40 to go. The Beavers tried to mount a comeback and got within three points at 75-72 but the Sagehens closed the game out at the line and walked away with the comeback win.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next travel to Cal Lutheran on Monday, January 17th at 7:00 p.m.
