Box Score WHITTIER, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team extended its winning streak to five games with a 79-76 win on the road against SCIAC opponent Whittier on Wednesday night at Dave Jacobs Court.
Season Impact: with the win, the Sagehens improve to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in SCIAC play.
The Sagehens were led by Matthew Eberle who led the team with a career high 30 points in the win. Brendan Mora tallied 14 points and eight rebounds while Ty Bergman came off of the bench with 14 points as well in the win.
The Sagehens and Poets shot nearly identical numbers from the field with Pomona-Pitzer hitting on 43.9% from the floor and 34.8% from three while the Poets shot 44.6% from the field and 32.1% from beyond the arc. The main difference in the game was the Sagehens winning the rebound battle 42-29 and put up 20 second chance points while Whittier only had nine.
The Sagehens got out to a big start early in the game with a 14-2 run capped off by two free-throws by Pete Boyle. The Whittier offense struggled to get going as they faced a 12-point deficit within the first four minutes of the game but started to chip away at the Sagehen lead and got back to a one possession game at 19-16 with 10:21 left in the first half. The Sagehens kept their first-half lead, but the Poets kept it close and trailed 41-38 at halftime.
Much like the first half the Sagehens got out to a good start on offense as they grew their lead to 52-44 in the first five minutes of the second half. The Poets then sparked an 8-0 run to tie the game at 52-52 with 13:26 left to play. Whittier took their first lead of the game at 57-56 after a made three with just under 10 minutes to go and got their lead to as large as three, but the Sagehens battled back late and tied the game at 74-74 with 1:30 left in the second half.
The Poets took a 76-74 lead with the Sagehens needing a big basket and it was the 30-point man, Matthew Eberle, who came away with a huge three-pointer to give the Sagehens a 77-76 lead with 16 seconds to play. The Sagehen defense came up big and Mora closed the game out at the free-throw line as the Sagehens escaped Whittier with the win.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next host La Verne on Saturday, January 22nd at 10:00 a.m.
