Box Score WHITTIER, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team came away with a 90-81 road win over Whittier on Saturday afternoon at the Graham Athletic Center.
Season Impact: With the win, the Sagehens improve to 10-5 overall and 5-1 in SCIAC play.
The Sagehens were led by Joe Cookson who scored a game-high 20 points and eight assists in the win. Pomona-Pitzer had four more players in double-digits: Brendan Mora had 18, Owen Avdalovic and Pete Boyle with 13, and Peyton Mullarkey with 12.
Whittier actually outshot the Sagehens from the field and from beyond the arc, but Pomona-Pitzer took care of the ball on offense with only five turnovers on the day but forced Whittier to turn the ball over 15 times. The Sagehens also outscored the Poets 38-24 in the paint and totaled 10 points via the fast break.
A fairly even half between the two teams in the first 20 minutes of this SCIAC contest. The Sagehens and Poets traded leads five times throughout the first half with just five turnovers between the two teams. The Sagehens had the advantage midway through the first half with a 21-16 lead after a Mora layup, but Whittier sparked a quick 8-1 run to take a 24-22 lead with 6:54 left until halftime. The Poets stayed on top late in the half and went into the locker room with a 36-31 lead.
The Sagehens closed the gap early coming out of halftime and stayed within a point or two of the Poets throughout the first seven minutes of the second half and eventually found themselves tied at 52-52 with 13 minutes to play. Pomona-Pitzer took a seven-point lead after back-to-back threes by Mora and Mullarkey and went on to take their largest lead of the game so far at 10 points after a Mora layup at 71-61 with eight minutes left in the game. The Poets tried to get back into the game late, but the Sagehen offense tallied 59 points in the second half to secure the road win over Whittier.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next host Caltech on Wednesday, January 18th at 7:00 p.m.
