LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Feb. 7, 2009) – The
stands were full and the atmosphere was that of a play-off game,
but the Tigers could not hold onto a 39-32 halftime lead as they
struggled in the second half, falling just short, 60-58, to the
Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens tonight at Rush Gymnasium in a Southern
California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference battle.
Down by six with 7:09 to play in the first
half, Occidental used a 15-0 run to open up
nine-point advantage. Jack Hanley gave the Tigers
a 30-28 lead with a three-pointer at the 4:46 mark.
Evan Shore then followed suit
with a three-pointer. Hanley then scored in the paint before
David Ostrow forced a turnover and layed in a
bucket on a fast-break. Hanley score again with :46 to play to give
him 15 first-half points (three from long range).
In the first half Sean
Anderson, the SCIAC Athlete of the Week for the past two
consecutive weeks, was 6-for-7 from the field for 13 first-half
points, despite getting into early foul trouble. As a team the
Tigers shot 54.8% from the field during the first 20 minutes.
The Hens came pecking back in the second half
to knot the game at 39-39 and again at 41-41. While Oxy went up by
five with just under 11 minutes to go in regulation, Pomona-Pitzer
used a 10-0 run to swing the momentum in its favor, much to the
dismay of a once boisterous student-crowd.
Down the stretch Anderson and Hanley combined
for five free throws in as many chances, but there were just too
few seconds remaining in the end. The Sagehens missed a
final-second free-throw but immediately put pressure on
Justin Goltz who recovered the rebound, denying
Oxy a final chance to tie or win the game.
Hanley, who played all 40 minutes, and
Anderson led all players with 23 and 19 points, respectively.
Pomona-Pitzer put four players in double figures, led by David Liss
who had 14, followed by Jeremy Namkung (13), Adam Chaimowitz (12)
and Justin Sexton (10).
Occidental pulled down one more rebound (27)
than the Sagehens as each team grabbed eight offensive boards. PP
converted those boards into 10 second chance points, while Oxy
managed only five points. The Tigers forced 13 turnovers, leading
to 16 points and Pomona-Pitzer scored 12 points off 11 Oxy
turnovers.
David Ostrow finished with a
season high nine assists and added a game-high four steals.
The loss drops the Tigers into the fifth spot
in the conference standings as they now hold a 9-11 overall record
with a 5-4 SCIAC mark. Pomona-Pitzer remains at the top of the
conference with an 11-9 overall record, 8-1 in SCIAC play.
Occidental will be back in action on
Wednesday, Feb. 11 when they host the third ranked
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags, who are coming off an 80-71 loss to
Cal Lutheran University, who holds the # 2 spot. Tip-off is
scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Rush Gymnasium.
