Box Score CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's basketball swept the season series against Whittier with the 82-72 win on Wednesday night at the Linde Activities Center (LAC).
Season Impact: with the win, the Sagehens improve to 14-4 overall and 10-2 in SCIAC play and slides into second place in the conference.
The Sagehens were led by Matthew Eberle who tallied a team-high 20 points in the win. Joe Cookson added 16 points and 8 rebounds while Brendan Mora and Pete Boyle both notched a double-double with Mora going for 14 and 10 and Boyle getting 12 and 11.
The Sagehens were able to fend off the Poets at home after grabbing a sizable lead in the first half. The Sagehens outshot Whittier hitting on 40% of their shots from the field to the Poets' 31.4%. Whittier was living and dying by the three ball with 36 attempts from beyond the arc hitting at a 22.2% clip with the Sagehens hitting 6-21 at 28.%. The Sagehens also outscored the Poets in the paint 36-24 and had 23 second chance points.
The Sagehens got out to an early lead as they began the game with a 16-4 run capped off by a Peyton Mullarkey three to take a 16-4 lead with 11:52 left in the half. The Poets climbed back into the game as they got the lead down to four points at 22-18 with just under eight minutes to play before halftime and eventually got it down to one point at 31-30, but the Sagehens ended the half with a 12-2 run to take a 43-32 lead heading into the locker room.
The Sagehens kept their momentum rolling in the early goings of the second half as they stretched their lead to the largest margin of the night at 24 points after an Eberle slam made it 59-35 with 14:42 to play. The Poets turned a corner and started getting the three-point shot working as they quickly cut into the Sagehens' lead.
Whittier got the game back down under 10 points at 65-46 with 8:44 left to go in the second half and then decreased the margin to 71-67 after a made layup with 5:44 to go. The Sagehens maintained their small lead over the Poets, and it was Eberle from three with the dagger to put the Sagehens up 79-70 with just under two minutes left to play. The Poets were then forced to foul and the Sagehens closed the game out at the line for the win at home.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next travel to Caltech on Saturday, February 12th at 2:00 p.m.
