The Sagehen men’s basketball team placed heat upon SCIAC leader Cal Lutheran with a convincing 78-65 victory over Redlands. Pomona-Pitzer moved to 7-2 in conference play, only two games behind Cal Lutheran. Moreover, Pomona faces Cal Lutheran at home later in the season, granting the squad the opportunity to close on Cal Lutheran in the conference standings while avenging their earlier loss.

Defense spurred the two key runs that ultimately decided the victory, and it also acted as a prime catalyst for offensive output. While playing tight, half-court man-to-man defense for the majority of the game, Pomona-Pitzer also showed a 2-3 zone, and man-to-man and zone full court presses. One constantly heard Coach Charles Katsiaficas plead to his players "feet, feet," urging them to move their feet and stay in front of the ball on defense.

The varied defenses forced Redlands into 20 turnovers, seven more than the Sagehens’ total. The taller Sagehens also garnered 11 more rebounds than Redlands. The team’s greater depth gave them an advantage as nine Hens scored compared to only six Bulldogs.

Jeremiah Martin ’01 led Pomona-Pitzer to victory with his commanding post presence and team-leading 18 points and seven rebounds. Martin exploited Redlands’ slower, smaller post players. Martin continued his sterling conference play, increasing his 14.7-point conference scoring average.

Travis Bray ’01 and Mark Erler ’04 gave key perimeter support to Martin’s imposing interior presence. Erler contributed 14 points and six rebounds, along with three steals and smooth transition play. Bray added 11 points, drawing defenders away from the post with clutch three-point shooting. Both Bray and Erler have significantly boosted their offensive output during conference play.

Guard Gordie Hunt led Redlands with 19 points. Hunt received support from Billy Shivers and Chris Branich, who contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The game contained three major periods: an initial spurt by the Sagehens, a long Redlands run to close the first half, and the slow building of the final margin during the second half. Pomona-Pitzer began with a 19-8 spurt, which concluded with nine minutes to go in the first half. Blanketing, three-quarter court, trapping man-to-man defense incited the first Sagehen run.

Redlands responded to the initial Pomona-Pitzer spurt with a 20-3 run of its own. Poor Sagehen shot selection and ball control aided Redlands’ cause. Furthermore, numerous fouls by the Hens allowed Redlands to add to its margin at the free throw line. The first half concluded with Redlands leading the Sagehens 39-37.

Pomona-Pitzer opened the second half by turning to its inside force. Martin scored three of the first four Sagehen buckets and helped the squad regain the lead. The Sagehen’s interior size began to wear on the Redlands post players and soon they began to command the game. At 11:27 Pomona-Pitzer led 56-50 and would not trail afterwords. As the Sagehens continued to build their lead throughout the second half, Coach Katsiaficas preached, "Keep it in the middle," and "Slow shots, slow shots," from the sideline.

With the victory, Pomona-Pitzer improved to 10-10 overall and more importantly maintained their second place position in conference competition. Redlands fell to 2-7 in SCIAC play and 7-13 overall.

Prepare to hike across Sixth Street as Pomona-Pitzer faces CMS on Feb 14. Get ready to chant "Bobby, Bobby" whenever guard Bob Donlan CMC ‘02 touches the ball. He hates that.