Pomona-Pitzer used a late 17-0 run to post a 74-63 road win over the University of La Verne in SCIAC men's basketball action Saturday evening at Frantz Athletic Court.
La Verne led for most of the second half, and took a 61-57 lead
on two straight baskets from Jake Veith with 5:31 to play, but the
Sagehens countered by reeling off 17 straight points down the
stretch to secure the win. Trevor Woodland made a
jumper with 17 seconds left for La Verne for the only points in the
final five minutes of action.
With the win, the Sagehens improve to 13-8 overall and 8-3 in
conference play to move a step closer to clinching a berth in the
SCIAC Postseason Tournament. The Leopards fall to 5-17
overall and 2-9 in conference play.
Consecutive layups from Evan Zahnisher and Jack Klukas tied the
contest at 61, and a Jake Klewer layup with 3:48 put the Hens up
for good at 63-61. Michael Cohen then made a basket and
subsequent free throw to extend the lead to 66-61 with 1:58 to go.
Klewer then grabbed a defensive rebound off a missed three-pointer
and made two foul shots to give the Sagehens a 68-61 lead.
The Hens would go on to add a field goal and four free throws to
conclude the run on their way to victory.
The Leopards trailed Pomona-Pitzer 21-13 in the first half, but
three straight three-pointers from Jeremy Lay, Veith and
Woodland allowed the Leos to take a one-point lead (22-21) with
6:01 to play. A basket from Donald Okpalugo with three
seconds left gave the Hens a 31-30 advantage at the break.
In the second half, Pomona-Pitzer shot 55.6% from the field while making 11 of its 12 shots from the free throw line (91.6%). For the game, the Sagehens shot 51.0% (25-49) compared to La Verne's 39.7% (23-58).
Cohen led the Hens with 15 points with Klewer and Klukas adding
12 and 11 points, respectively.
Woodland led all scorers with 18 for the Leopards and is eight
points shy of joining teammate Austin Napolitano
with 1,000 career points. Veith was the only other La Verne
player to score in double figures in registering 10 points.
Jourdan Simmonds and Tyler Hoyt added 8 points apiece.
La Verne remains at home to face Redlands on Wednesday night in a 7:30 pm start.
