CMS Men's Basketball Falls in Final Seconds to Pomona-Pitzer in First Sixth Street Rivalry Match-Up

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Senior guard Miles President tied the score with a three-pointer with 23 seconds left for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's basketball team, but Pomona-Pitzer's Micah Elan answered with 1.3 left with a three of his own as the Sagehens defended their home court in the first of two Sixth Street Rivalry games this season with a 51-48 win on Wednesday evening at Voelkel Gymnasium.

The loss snaps a three-game win streak for the Stags, who fall to 3-2 on the year, while Pomona-Pitzer raises its record to 4-2.

Both teams were coming off a high-scoring sweep at the David Wells Classic this weekend, with Pomona-Pitzer (117-95) and CMS (114-92) winning shootouts over Pacific, and both teams adding lopsided wins over Lewis & Clark (CMS 82-49, Pomona-Pitzer 92-72). However, the head-to-head battle ended up much more of a defensive struggle that didn't see either team reach 50 points until the end.

The Stags led most of the way, jumping out to a 14-4 lead in the first 10 minutes, before an Elan three-pointer finally got the Sagehens to seven points with 9:23 left in the half.  The Stags settled for a 20-16 lead at the half, and still led by six at 32-26 with 13:01 left after two foul shots from senior forward Kele Mkpado. A three-pointer from Pomona-Pitzer's Jack Boyle tied the score at 37-37 with 7:36 left and an Adam Rees driving lay-up put the Sagehens in front for the first time with 6:53 to go. 

After two Elan foul shots put Pomona-Pitzer ahead 41-37, the CMS reserve unit stepped up to get the Stags back in front. Mkpado drove down the lane and got to the rim to cut the lead to two, and junior guard Chukwueloka Oti hit step-back 18-footer to level the score at 41-41. Oti answered an Elan basket with two free throws to tie the score at 43-43, and after Pomona-Pitzer split two at the line, senior forward Jeremy Horn converted on a jump hook in the paint to give CMS a late 45-44 advantage with 2:14 left. 

After the Sagehens went 1-of-2 at the line to tie it, Mkpado had a steal and then kicked the ball out to junior guard Mitchell Kirsch in the right corner, who was unlucky as his three-pointer rattled out with 1:28 on the clock which would have given the Stags a three-point lead. On the next possession, Rees then got a clean look on at a three-pointer from the right wing off an Elan kickout pass, and his dropped through to give Pomona-Pitzer a 48-45 advantage in a key six-point swing. 

CMS fought back, as President came through with a clutch basket to tie it, stepping back at the top of the key and burying a three-pointer over the outstretched arm of the Pomona-Pitzer defense with 23 seconds to go. The Sagehens called timeout and got the ball to Elan, their senior floor general who played all 40 minutes, and Elan worked in isolation on the right wing, hitting a pull-up three-pointer off the dribble with just 1.3 seconds left.

CMS had timeouts left, but tried to inbound quickly and catch Pomona-Pitzer off guard, knowing that the Sagehens could foul on purpose before CMS could get a three-pointer off with a chance to get organized. However, the Stags were only able to get up a desperation shot that fell harmlessly to the floor, as Pomona-Pitzer earned the hard-fought win.   

President finished with 13 points to lead the Stags, while Oti added 10 points off the bench on 3-4 shooting from the floor and 4-4 shooting from the foul line. Pomona-Pitzer shot just 29.8 percent on the day (17-57), but Elan was able to carry the Sagehens with 21 points on 8-14 shooting. The big men played to a standstill as well, with senior Jeremy Horn getting eight points and 13 rebounds, and Pomona-Pitzer's Alex Preston getting eight points and 14 rebounds. 

CMS will be back in action this weekend when it travels to the Bay Area to face UC Santa Cruz on Friday at 7 p.m. and Cal Maritime on Saturday at 7 p.m. The second Sixth Street Rivalry game will take place at Roberts Pavilion on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 6:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the CMS and Pomona-Pitzer women, who will tip off after at 8:30 p.m.