WHITTIER, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team fell to Whittier 78-74 on Wednesday night at Dave Jacobs Court.
 
Season Impact: with the loss, the Sagehens fall to 12-9 overall and 6-6 in SCIAC play.
 
The Sagehens were led by Samir O'Brien who came off the bench with a team high 16 points in the loss. Joe Cookson and Ty Bergman each had 14 as well.
 
Pomona-Pitzer actually had the better of Whittier from the floor hitting on 45.6% of their shots to Whittier's 41.8, but the Poets had the big advantage form beyond the arc with 55% of their shots falling from three and hit on 21-27 free throws.
 
The Poets started off well at home with a 9-0 lead out of the gate.  Pomona-Pitzer chipped away at the lead and got it all the way back even at 32-32 with just under four minutes to play in the first half. The Sagehens took their first lead at 36-35 after an O'Brien jumper and a three by Peyton Mullarkey to end the half gave the Sagehens a 41-37 lead heading into the break.
 
Pomona-Pitzer continued their good play straight out of halftime and built their largest lead of the night up nine points at 48-39, but the Poets came back midway through the second half and made it a two-point game at 59-57 with 10 minutes to go.
 
The two teams stayed close down the stretch and the Sagehens even led 74-72 with 2:10 to play. The Poets hit some key free throws late in the game and the Sagehens failed to come up with a late bucket as the Poets stole a win from the Sagehens to even their season series.
 
Up Next: The Sagehens will next host Caltech on Wednesday, February 12^th at 7:00 p.m.