ELMHURST, Il. – The Pomona-Pitzer men's basketball dominated the first half but fell to No. 16 Elmhurst after a big second half from the Bluejays gave them the 76-70 victory. Matthew Eberle led the team with 21 points while Brendan Mora earned a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Pete Boyle also had a good night for the Sagehens, ending the night with 14 points and five rebounds. As a team, the Sagehens shot 38.2% from the field and 40.0% from beyond the arc. The Sagehens outrebounded Elmhurst 43-34 and held them to a 24.2% shooting percentage from three-point range. With the loss, the Sagehens end their 2022 campaign with a 22-5 overall record, ending in the NCAA Second Round. 

How It Happened

Elmhurst opened the game with a three, but the Sagehens quickly turned things around as Matthew Eberle, Pete Boyle, and Brendan Mora all chimed in to bring the game to a 5-5 tie with 16:11 left in the first half. Elmhurst hit a jumper but just as they took the lead, the Sagehens took it right back with a Mora three-pointer. Elmhurst fought back to tie the game at 11-11 but Mora hit another three to give the Sagehens the 14-11 edge. Pomona-Pitzer began to find their rhythm as Matthew Eberle hit back-to-back three pointers to put the Sagehens up 20-12. After a jumper from Elmhurst, Eberle came back and hit another shot from downtown to put Pomona-Pitzer up 23-14 with 8:10 left in the half. Ty Bergman hit two free throws before Eberle drilled yet another three, forcing the Bluejays to talk things over with Pomona-Pitzer leading 28-14. Down the stretch, the Sagehens kept their foot on the gas, seeing buckets from Boyle, Eberle, Peyton Mullarkey, and Brendan Mora to go into the halftime break with a 40-26 lead. 

Elmhurst came out red hot in the second half, commanding their way to a 25-5 run that lasted nearly nine minutes, putting the Bluejays up 51-45. Eberle knocked down a jumper to break up the Elmhurst run and start the comeback attempt. Five-straight points from Pete Boyle, including a three-pointer brought the Sagehens back within three at 55-52 but Elmhurst responded with a three of their own. Hayden Moser tried to answer with a three as well but was fouled in the process and hit all three free throws to pull the Sagehens within three at 58-55. The Sagehens fought back within three again after two free throws from Mora but a jumper from Elmhurst pushed their lead to 62-57. Pomona-Pitzer wouldn't go down without a fight, staying solid at the free throw line to keep things close with Eberle hitting two free throws to pull the team within three at 65-62 with 2:42 to play. The Sagehens cut the lead to one with just under two minutes to play after a Joe Cookson three from the corner. With an opportunity to tie the game with 1:11 to go, Eberle and Mora both missed three-pointers after Ty Bergman grabbed an offensive board to give the Sagehens a second chance. Elmhurst capitalized on their next possession and hit a jumper to take a 70-65 lead with 30 seconds left to play. The Sagehens began to foul to try to make a late comeback, but Elmhurst hit the first two to take a 72-65 lead. Pete Boyle hit a three-pointer with eight seconds left and Mora made a hard jumper with two seconds left but the efforts fell just short as Elmhurst defeated Pomona-Pitzer 76-70.