Claremont, Calif. - Freshman Jack Klukas (Eden Prairie, Minn.) had 28 points, including three huge three-pointers late in the second half, to lead the Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team to a big 74-68 win over Redlands on Saturday evening.

Sophomore forward Jake Klewer (Tucson, Ariz.) added 12 points and 12 rebounds, including 6-6 from the foul line in the last 22 seconds to help the Sagehens hang on for a win in a battle of two of the three teams who came into the evening tied for second in the SCIAC.

The win gives Pomona-Pitzer sole possession of second place, as it improves to 12-7 overall and 7-2 in the SCIAC. Redlands falls to 11-9 and 6-3 in the SCIAC, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps barely held on to first place in the league (8-1) with a one-point win over Whittier (6-3), which missed a winning lay-up attempt at the buzzer.

Pomona-Pitzer led 37-28 at the half, and Klukas started the second half with a three-pointer to give the Sagehens a 40-28 lead, matching its largest of the game. Redlands, though, turned up the defensive intensity and got all the way back to within 46-44 with 9:34 left on a jumper from Jack Colston (21 points, 12 rebounds).

After an exchange of baskets made it 48-46, Klukas hit the first of his three big trifectas to put Pomona-Pitzer ahead 51-46 with 7:57 to go. After Redlands answered back with a three-pointer of its own from Brian Kuklok, freshman guard Kyle McAndrews (Seattle, Wash.) made two foul shots and then fed Klukas on a fast break to put the Sagehens back up 55-49.

Redlands again cut it to 55-51 on a lay-up from Tristan Kirk, but Klukas hit another three-pointer to give the Sagehens a more comfortable 58-51 lead.

The lead didn't stay comfortable for long, as a three-pointer from Eric Radford brought Redlands back within 60-58 with 2:42 to go. However, Klukas shook free in the corner and buried the last of his daggers with 2:17 left to play to give the Sagehens a five-point lead.

Redlands made one of two foul shots to cut the lead to 63-59, and Klukas came up with a big offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to freshman guard Michael Cohen (Tarzana, Calif.), who buried a wide open three-pointer with 1:29 left to give the Sagehens a 66-59 lead. After one Redlands foul shot, Klewer fed sophomore forward John Weiss (Cleveland, Ohio) for a lay-up as the shot clock expired, seemingly wrapping up the game at 68-60 with 39 seconds left.

The Bulldogs had one last spurt in them, though, as Radford hit a jumper and Mychal Estrada hit a tough three-pointer on the move from the left wing to suddenly close the gap to within 68-65 with 24 seconds to go. Klewer was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass and made both, then grabbed a huge defensive rebound and made two more foul shots to seal it. A three-pointer from Kirk made the score 72-68 with four seconds left, and Klewer was fouled one more time and made two more freebies to seal it.

Klukas' 28 points was the highest total for any Sagehen this season. He shot 10-15 from the floor (after missing his first two shots in the opening minutes) and 5-9 from three-point territory. Cohen was also in double figures with 12 points off the Pomona-Pitzer bench, including the big late three-pointer.

The Sagehens, who had stuggled on offense in the last two games (a loss to Occidental and a narrow in over Caltech), came alive by shooting 50.0 percent for the game (26-52), while holding Redlands to 40 percent. Pomona-Pitzer also took the season series from Redlands 2-1, as the Bulldogs won a non-conference game at home over the Sagehens in December in the championship of the Lee Fulmer Invitational (67-54), while Pomona-Pitzer won the SCIAC game at Redlands in January (60-51).

Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Wednesday for a home game with Cal Lutheran at 7:30 p.m.