PASADENA, CA - A stifling defensive performance by the Pomona-Pitzer Men's basketball team lifted the Sagehens to their first non-conference road victory of the season against the Caltech Beavers by the score of 63-39.
 
Season Impact: With the win, the Sagehens extend their perfect start to the year at 7-0 overall, and remain undefeated in league as well with a 2-0 mark.
 
The Sagehens held the Beavers to just 31.5% shooting from the floor and 12.5% from 3 in a stellar defensive showing. Additionally, they forced 14 turnovers and outrebounded their opponents by a margin of 39-28 to hold the Beavers to a total of 39 points for the game. That total marks the lowest points allowed for a Sagehens squad since the 2018-2019 season when they beat Texas-Dallas by a score of 58-37 in Walla Walla, WA during the 1st round of the NCAA tournament.
 
In a great all-around performance, the Sagehens recorded 9 steals, as Charlie Treene led the way with 3, while Hayden Moser and Owen Avdalovic added 2 apiece. Ty Bergman added 2 of Pomona-Pitzer's 4 total blocks as well, and Pete Boyle grabbed 11 rebounds from his forward position.
 
Offensively, the team was led by the combination of Joe Cookson and Ty Bergman, who finished with 19 and 17 points apiece. Six other Sagehens found their way into the scoring column as well in a balanced offensive night for Pomona-Pitzer.
 
The Sagehens came out with defensive intensity early, holding the Beavers scoreless for nearly 9 minutes to begin the game. However, at the under-16 media time-out, the margin remained 2-0, with a Ty Bergman layup being the only difference. It wouldn't take long for the Sagehens to get hot, however, as Pomona-Pitzer would stretch their lead to 13 after a Bergman dunk made the score 18-5 at the 8-minute mark. 
 
The two teams would trade buckets before halftime, a late 6-2 run bringing the Beavers to within striking distance at 26-18 at the midway mark. Caltech came out of the gate in the second half with a few buckets to cut the lead to 31-24, but would never get closer than that again, as Pomona-Pitzer immediately went on an 11-0 run punctuated by a Jasper Hedin 3-ball from the corner with 14:39 remaining.
 
The Sagehens coasted for the rest of the game, and a big 17-0 run at the 10-minute mark of the second half pushed their lead to 60-30 after Ty Bergman's third straight bucket with 4:29 remaining. Caltech would hit a few late 3s, but the final score was 63-39 in favor of Pomona-Pitzer.
 
The Sagehens return home looking to to Voekel Gymnaisum for a non-conference match-up tomorrow at 2 PM against UC Santa Cruz (4-4), who they previously bested 74-66 on November 18th.