CMS Defeats Pomona-Pitzer to Claim SCIAC Men's Basketball Tournament Title - Feb 27, 2018
The top-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) men's basketball secured their sixth Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament title Saturday afternoon when it defeated third-seeded Pomona-Pitzer, 86-62 Saturday evening at Roberts Pavilion on the campus of CMS. With the win, CMS improves to 19-7 overall and earns the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship which will be announced early this week. Pomona-Pitzer (15-12) will await a possible at-large selection to the NCAA tournament. CMS was efficient from the field in the first half, shooting 57.1% from the floor and 64.3% from long distance highlighted by nine treys en route to a 20-point 49-29 lead after 20 minutes of play. Michael Scarlett (6'4''-G) netted 15 points for the Stags, while Scott Lynds (5'11''-PG) - the tournament's Most Valuable Player - added 14 in the first half. Pomona-Pitzer was led by Alex Preston (6'9''-F) who scored 10 points off the bench in the first stanza, while Corbin Koch (6'3''-G) added nine for the Sagehens. In the second half, CMS pulled away, holding Pomona-Pitzer scoreless through the first 2:21 of the second half to help the Stags post a lead of as many as 30. Lynds finished the evening 12-for-17 from the field, highlighted by a 5-for-10 effort from three-point range as he poured in a game-high 299 points. Scarlett added 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting with four treys, while Miles President (6'1''-G) chipped in nine points. Kendrick Morris added 12 points and six rebounds, while Jack Ely (6'3''-F) and Maxwell Kirsch (6'5''-F) secured five rebounds each. The Sagehens were led by Micah Elan (6'3''-G)'s 16-point, six-rebound showing, while Preston finished with 15 points in the loss. Koch added 11 points, while Daniel Rosenbaum (6'4''-G) and Adam Rees (6'4''-G/F) tallied nine and eight points respectively.
All-Tournament MVP: Scott Lynds (5'11''-PG) of Claremont-Mudd Player of the Year: Michael Scarlett (6'4''-G) of Claremont-Mudd Newcomer of the Year: Reed Smith (6'6''-C) of Chapman Scholar-Athlete of the Year: David Kawashima (6'2''-G) of California Tech Coach of the Year: Ken Scalmanini of Claremont-Mudd
Scalmanini
