CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team improved their win streak to eight games to open their season after a 77-73 win over non-conference opponent UC Santa Cruz on Sunday afternoon at Voelkel Gymnasium.
 
Season Impact: With the win, the Sagehens improve to 8-0 overall.
 
The Sagehens were led by the trio of Joe Cookson, Pete Boyle and Jasper Hedin. Cookson led the way with 18 points while Boyle and Hedin each tallied 15 in the win.
 
The Banana Slugs outshot the Sagehens from the floor at 46.2% with Pomona-Pitzer shooting at 36.9% from the floor but also hit on 36.4% of their shots from three. UCSC's bench outscored the Sagehen bench 27-25, but the Sagehens did their damage by forcing 14 turnovers with 19 points off of turnovers while Pomona-Pitzer only turned the ball over six times.
 
Low scoring from both teams to start the game as the lead changed hands early and often throughout the early stages of the first half. UC Santa Cruz got a small lead over the Sagehens at 26-19 with just under eight minutes left to go in the first half, but the Sagehens rallied and went on a 16-6 run to take a 35-32 lead after a Boyle three with 4:04 left before halftime. Pomona-Pitzer was able to maintain their small lead with a 42-40 advantage heading into the locker room.
 
The Sagehens started the second half shooting well and extended their lead to eight points at 54-46 after a Boyle three. The Sagehens stayed at that length for the majority of the second half and took their largest lead of the game at nine points with a 66-57 lead after a Peyton Mullarkey three with 6:49 to play.  
 
UC Santa Cruz started to chip away at the lead late and even got back within striking distance at four points at 73-69 with 1:48 to play, but the Sagehens stayed solid from the free-throw line and closed the game out to improve to eight-straight wins to open up the season.
 
Up Next: The Sagehens will next head to La Sierra University on Saturday, December 16^th at 8:00 p.m.