CLAREMONT, Calif. — Pomona-Pitzer men's basketball came back from a 17-point second half deficit to defeat Whitworth 95-90 Monday night in overtime at Voelkel Gymnasium. 
 
Season Impact: The win puts the Sagehens at 5-3 on the season, including 1-1 in SCIAC play. 
 
Matthew Diekmann and Kyle Jasper scored 26 points apiece, both career-highs, to lead Pomona-Pitzer. Diekmann added nine boards while Charlie Hutchison pitched in 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. The Sagehens trailed by as many as 17 points near the start of the second half before storming back and outscoring the Pirates 16-11 in overtime to secure the win. 
 
Trailing 77-69 with 4:15 remaining, Diekmann, Jasper and Hutchison traded baskets to bring the Sagehens within two, 77-75, with 2:22 left. Whitworth scored before another Diekmann basket in the paint made it 79-77. Teams traded misses until Clyde Rosenberg pulled down a defensive rebound and was fouled, earning a trip to the free throw line with 17 seconds left. He then calmly sank both, and the Sagehen defense posted a stop to force overtime. 
 
Hutchison scored a driving layup to give Pomona-Pitzer its first lead of the game 39 seconds into overtime. Jasper sank three free throws and Diekmann scored a fastbreak lay-in before a Pirate three put Whitworth up 87-86 with 1:19 to go. 
 
But the Sagehens refused to go down, as Dikemann knocked down a big three to put Pomona-Pitzer up 89-87 with 53 seconds left. Jasper hit four free throws down the stretch and Diekmann added a pair of his own, while the Sagehen defense strung together three crucial stops in the final minute to seal the 95-90 overtime win. 
 
Whitworth seized control early in regulation, building a 10-point lead with 5:55 left in the first half. Sam Lind hit a jumper and Jasper hit a pair of free throws, but the Sagehens found themselves trailing 46-31 at the half. 
 
After falling behind by 17, 48-31, early in the second half, Lind completed a three-point play and Hutchison hit a three to cut the Sagehens' deficit to 11. Teams then traded baskets, with a Diekmann triple bringing Pomona-Pitzer within six, 63-57, with 10:30 to go. Jasper hit a jumper before a Pirate trey gave Whitworth a 77-69 lead with just over four minutes to go. The Sagehens, though, closed regulation on a 10-2 run to force overtime before eventually coming away with the 95-90 win. 
 
Up Next: Pomona-Pitzer will take on UC Santa Cruz on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 2:00 p.m. PT at Voelkel Gymnasium.