Box Score CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team opened up the 2022 David Wells Classic with a 73-69 win over non-conference opponent UC Santa Cruz on Friday night at Voelkel Gymnasium.
Season Impact: with the win, the Sagehens improve to 2-3 overall to start the year.
The Sagehens had four starters in double digits as Joe Cookson led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Pete Boyle added another double-double with 15 and 12, Ty Bergman chipped in with 14 points hitting on four of his eight shots from three, and Brendan Mora added 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in the win.
Pomona-Pitzer shot almost identical numbers from the floor as they did from beyond the arc with 35.9% of their shots falling from the field and 35.3% from three. The Sagehens dominated the rebounds 42-36 but UC Santa Cruz controlled the paint with 32 points to the Sagehens' 20.
The Sagehens got a hot start with some good shooting from Bergman, starting with an 11-4 lead. They quickly extended their lead to over 10 points as Ben Daugherty added a three of his own to make it 17-6 with 13:07 left in the first half. Pomona-Pitzer kept the lead around 10 points for the remainder of the first half and went into halftime with a 37-28 lead.
More good shooting to start the second half from Pomona-Pitzer as they came out of halftime with an 8-0 run capped off by a Bergman three to make it 45-28. The Sagehens kept their lead at 15 midway through the second half, but the Banana Slugs started to chip away at the lead down the stretch. Santa Cruz got within striking distance after a big made three made it a two-possession game at 65-59 with just over two minutes remaining. The Sagehens went to the line to make it a comfortable seven-point lead with 48 seconds to play, but Santa Cruz forced some late turnovers and made it a one-possession game at 69-66 with 27 seconds to go.
Pomona-Pitzer had the clock on their side and was able to hold off the late surge by the Banana Slugs as Boyle sank two free throws at the end to seal a 73-69 win in game one of the David Wells Classic.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next take on Puget Sound on Saturday, November 26th at 4:30 p.m. at Roberts Pavilion.
