LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Jan. 23, 2008) – It
was the epitome of a team effort tonight at Voelkel Gymnasium as
Occidental College defeated a strong Pomona-Pitzer team 64-59 in
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action.
Huston Conti played the best
overall game of his collegiate career with a team-high 19 points,
including the final five Oxy points of the game. Additionally he
added five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in the
win. Not only did Conti come through offensively, but he took on
the challenge of guarding the game's point leader Jabarri
Reynolds, who finished with 22. Conti, however, limited the senior
Sagehen to just six second half points.
Out of the lineup due to illness was
Joe Sasich, last week's SCIAC Athlete of the
Week, who has filled a key role since SCIAC play began. The combo
of Chris Hunt and Sean Anderson
stepped up tonight to fill that void.
Just one rebound shy of a double-double, Hunt
played with a ferocity that spread to his teammates. He supplied
the Tigers with 17 points, while grabbing nine rebounds, four of
them coming on the offensive end of the court.
Anderson made his presence felt defensively
and added four points on 2-for-3 shooting while grabbing four
boards in limited action.
Although senior Connor
Whitman sank just a pair of buckets, both from three-point
range, he went 7-for-8 from the line and dished out a game high
five assists for Oxy to record double-digits for the thirteenth
time this season.
The two teams battled from tip-off as the game
was tied five times with the lead changing three times. A 9-9 score
five minutes into the game turned into a 22-12 advantage for
Occidental with 10:49 to play in the first half, marking the
largest gap between the Tigers and Sagehens in the contest.
Pomona-Pitzer chipped away, pulling the score
to 31-28 to play in the first when Reynolds connected from
three-point range. Oxy scored on their next four possessions in
succession on their way to a 44-38 half time lead.
Although things were tight throughout the
second half, Oxy never trailed and the score was tied twice, at
44-44 and 46-46, the latter with 13:35 remaining in regulation.
The Sagehens shot 47.8% from the field while
the Tigers posted just a 43.3 shooting percentage on the night.
Both teams were 7-for-23 in the second half from the field. Oxy and
PP scored 22 and 20 points in the paint
respectively.
Occidental out-rebounded Pomona-Pitzer by a
33-30 margin and doubled up PP with 10 offensive boards to the
Sagehens' five. Pomona-Pitzer scored nine points on those
five offensive rebounds, though, while Oxy converted their second
chances for six points.
Oxy forced 12 Pomona-Pitzer turnovers, leading
to 14 Sagehen points. The Tigers took care of the ball, recording
13 assists with just seven turnovers in the game. Gyan
Alexander and Gemayal McBride each
supplied a pair. Alexander also added a pair of blocks.
“This was a tremendous team
effort,” offered head coach Brian Newhall. “The key at
this time of the year is to continue improving and we showed that
tonight.”
Adding a win on the road, against a well
coached and talented Pomona-Pitzer team that is especially
difficult to beat at their place, Oxy looks to maintain their
original goal.
“Our obvious goal is to win the
conference and advance to the SCIAC Tournament. The team that
improves the most between now and March will have the upper hand
and this was a big win for us to continue down that path.”
Occidental improves to 13-2, 3-1 in SCIAC
while handing Pomona-Pitzer (8-7, 3-1) their first SCIAC loss of
the season.
Saturday evening Occidental will travel to
Thousand Oaks, Calif. where the Tigers and California Lutheran
University (13-2, 3-1 SCIAC) Kingsmen will battle for the top spot
in the conference. Tip off is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Gilbert
Arena following the women's Oxy-CLU game beginning at 5:00
p.m.
