Sports Associate

Joseph Koch Jason Howie '01 hits the paint in an attempt to maintain possession of the basketball. The Sagehens are off to a good start despite key losses due to graduation.

In a season set up as a potential let-down, which only brought back one senior after last year’s SCIAC championship, the Pomona-Pitzer men’s basketball team looks surprisingly impressive this pre-season. With Jeff Herzog ’00 as the only senior presence on the team, a number of juniors are looking to step up and show some leadership in what could be another dominating season for Coach Katsiaficas’s perennial SCIAC power.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Hens went 1-1 in the West Coast Classic tournament hosted by Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont -Mudd-Scripps. They beat Washington University handily, 82-64, and lost a tight one to Trinity College, 62-59.

Against Washington U., the Hens put on a three-pointer clinic, shooting a higher percentage from beyond the arc (73%) than they did from the free-throw line (64%). Guard Dylan Nachand ’01 was one reason why they had such an unreal percentage, going 4-4 from three-point range and scoring 14 points total. Nachand felt good about his performance. He said, "My shot feels good. I want to work on making fewer mistakes — mainly turnovers."

Forwards Travis Bray ’01 and Jeremiah Martin’01 were the other major offensive contributors scoring 21 and 19 points, respectively.

The loss to Trinity was a much different story. Coach Katsiaficas said: "It was a good win over Washington U., and it was a good game against Trinity, too. We just didn’t execute as well as we needed to in the last ten minutes." This lack of execution down the stretch is best represented by the team’s three-point percentage, a paltry 18 percent.

Joseph Koch Tad DeWalt '01 lays it up.

Katsiaficas, who implemented a new standard offense this season, is optimistic about the team’s ability to win games: "The new offense will best suit the talents of this year’s team. It’s a good shooting ball club and a very versatile line-up. We want to utilize that versatility."

The versatility Katsiaficas is referring to the fact that the forward and guard positions are nearly interchangeable with many of the team’s players. Bray, for example, can defend in the post with his size and strength, but he has the touch of a guard. Likewise, Tad Dewalt ’01 and Randy Gastwirt’01 are both big enough to play up front, but they have the shooting, ball handling and slashing abilities of smaller players.

Nachand sees the change in offense as advantageous for the team: "The offense uses more screens and gives us more open looks from the outside. We’re a good shooting team, so that’s what we need." Guard Jason Howie ’01 agreed with Nachand, saying, "I think we’re a better team this season than last. We have a lot more of a team this year."

You’ll have a chance to see the Hens this weekend at the Azusa Pacific Tournament, where they will be playing tonight and tomorrow night. Their next home game is the December 11.