CLAREMONT, Calif. – Saint Joseph's College (4-3) held a 23-5 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half and held off a comeback bid late to defeat Pomona-Pitzer College (2-7), 58-53, in what was the Monks' first of two games during a West Coast trip on Tuesday evening. The western swing concludes with a contest versus Occidental College tomorrow at 6:00 PM EST.
Senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) led all players with 24 points while making all nine of his free throw attempts and shooting 5-11 from three-point distance. Senior forward Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) netted nine points and junior guard Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) chipped in with seven points to help the Monks win their third-consecutive contest. Prior to this evening, Saint Joseph's had not played since posting a 73-69 victory at Emmanuel College on December 4th.
After falling behind 23-5, the Sagehens were able to clamp down on defense for the remainder of the half, and pulled within 27-21 at the break on a back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Kyle McAndrews and freshman guard Hunter Lowry.
Lowry then scored 11 straight Pomona-Pitzer points in the second half on three three-pointers and a 15-foot jumper to bring the Sagehens all the way back to even at 43-43 with 9:09 to play. Blodgett broke the tie for the Monks with a shot in the paint, and Simonds hit a tough three-pointer from the left wing over the outstretched hand of senior guard Adrian Brandon to push the lead back up to five.
Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) had a key basket on a back cut with 1:47 to give the Monks a six point lead at 53-47, but the Sagehens were able to make it interesting late, as a Gibson Farone-Collins three-pointer with 19 seconds left made the score 55-53. Saint Joseph's split two shots at the line, and Lowry had a three to tie with eight seconds left that hit high off the rim, came down and hit off the rim a second time before bouncing off and falling into the hands of Blodgett, who was fouled and sealed the win by draining a pair of foul shots.
Senior guard Kyle McAndrews had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds (all defensive) while Lowry and Farone-Collins each had 14.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 5-1 all-time versus opponents hailing from the State of California. The Monks have not traveled to the Golden State since the 2005-06 campaign when the Royal Blue notched wins over UC-Santa Cruz and Colorado College at UCSC.
THANKS IN PART TO POMONA-PITZER SPORTS INFORMATION
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
