CLAREMONT, Calif. — Austin Cole scored a game-high 32 points, but it was not enough as Cal Lutheran fell to Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday night with a final score of 78-61.
Cole has now scored 1,340 points in his career which is the ninth-most in program history. He continues to climb the all-time scoring list and now has set his sights on No. 8, Mike Webb (1973-77), who currently holds the spot with 1,341.
The Kingsmen were looking to keep pace for the final Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference spots as they took on the No. 1 team in the conference. PP stayed undefeated in conference play and improved to 13-0 and 21-1 overall.
With the loss, CLU dropped to 5-8 and 7-15. The Kingsmen remain in contention for a SCIAC postseason berth as the No. 4-7 spots are still separated by two games.
Cal Lutheran shot a season-high 91.7-percent (22-24) from the free throw line to keep them in the game. However, the Kingsmen were outrebounded 47-25 with the Sagehens pulling down 15 offensive boards. The offensive rebounds helped Pomona-Pitzer score 42 points in the paint and their length then shutdown the Kingsmen as CLU could only muster six.
Cole scored 30-plus points for the third time this season. He made his career-high in free throws, hitting 16-of-18 attempts, for a percentage of 88.9. He was 4-of-6 from three point range and was second on the team with six rebounds.
Kyle Ferreira scored double-digits for the 21st time this season. He put up 16 points and tallied a team-high eight rebounds. Jared Wulbrun chipped in with seven points and added a team-high three rebounds.
The Kingsmen kept the first half close for nine minutes as the Sagehens were only up 15-11. Pomona-Pitzer's offense quickly woke up and double-up the Kingsmen at 24-12 with 7:25 left in the half. PP kept that margin and was up 35-20 at the break.
After Pomona-Pitzer opened up the lead at the beginning of the second half, Cal Lutheran fired back and cut into the deficit. With 5:30 left in the game, Cole nailed a three to make the score 65-51 in favor of the Sagehens. The Kingsmen couldn't get any closer and Pomona-Pitzer won the game 78-61.
Cal Lutheran has four games remaining on its schedule. The Kingsmen look to gain some ground on the No. 4 seed Redlands as the two teams face off on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a key matchup.
Box Score: PP 78, CLU 61
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director