Claremont, Calif. - The Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team continued to be snake-bitten in close games as it dropped a 61-57 decision to La Verne on Tuesday evening at Voelkel Gymnasium. 

The loss drops Pomona-Pitzer to 2-9 on the season an 0-2 in the SCIAC, with all eight losses on its current losing skid coming by single digits. La Verne improves to 5-6 overall and 1-1 in league play with the win, while snapping a seven-game losing streak in the series with the Sagehens. 

Junior forward Gibson Farone-Collins had a strong effort go for naught for Pomona-Pitzer, tallying 22 points and 11 rebounds on 10-13 shooting from the floor. Cruz Mertens had 19 points for La Verne, while Hakim Arnold added 18, including two big jumpers late after the Sagehens rallied back from 10 points down to tie it. 

Farone-Collins scored down low off a feed from Kyle McAndrews to cap off a 12-2 run and tie the score 55-55 with 8:26 left, but the Sagehens would shoot just 1-16 from the floor the rest of the way and score only two points. Arnold broke the tie with a tough 15-foot pull-up jumper, and after the teams exchanged stops, he hit another tough shot from 18 feet as the shot clock expired to make the score 59-55 with 3:45 to play. 

Farone-Collins scored on a jump hook with 2:59 left to cut the lead to two, but that would be the last points for the Sagehens, as La Verne made two of their four foul shots in the final two minutes. Freshman guard Hunter Lowry and McAndrews each had three-point attempts to tie, but were unable to hit either. 

After an offensive rebound gave the Sagehens another chance, a McAndrews two point attempt rolled off the rim with 18 seconds left before Josiah Sukumaran chased it down in the corner for his 11th rebound of the day and called timeout. Mertens hit one of two foul shots to make it a two possession game and seal it for the Leopards. 

McAndrews and Lowry each had 13 points for Pomona-Pitzer, while Brett Stephan had 10 for La Verne and point guard Khaneal Mason added nine assists and one turnover. Pomona-Pitzer held a 43-34 edge on the glass, but shot just 11-37 from the floor in the second half after leading 35-30 at the break. 

The Sagehens are back in action on Saturday when they host Cal Lutheran for a 4 p.m. contest at Voelkel Gymnasium.