Author: Lizeth Castillo
On Thursday, Mar. 6, excitement was high as the Men’s Basketball team beat Pomona-Pitzer in a qualifying NCAA tournament. The team won by one point, with a final score of 52-51. The game came down to the wire, with emotion-filled crowds yelling at both ends of the gym.
Pomona gave the Tigers a run for their money with a starting score of 24-9, with Oxy trailing by the first timeout of the game. The crowd quickly grew anxious as the team played a hit-and-miss game for the beginning of the first half.
“Being down 15 [points] in the first half is never a good feeling, but when we stick together as a group and stay positive, we are a very dangerous team,” player Henry Meier (senior) said. “Once the momentum was back on our side and we got the crowd back into the game, things turned around very quickly.”
The team began to receive much-needed support from the Oxy crowd and soon began scoring basket after basket. Pomona’s crowd also dished out their own school spirit and attempted to use distractive tactics to decrease team morale. The Tigers readily countered Pomona’s enthusiasm and turned the gym into a battle of the crowds.
“The crowd was amazing!” Huston Conti (junior) said. “We love our fans and they came out in full force for the game. From the face paint, to the pom-poms, to the ref jerseys, it was all amazing . . . Hats off to the Oxy fans!” The Tigers caught up to the Sagehens with a 24-22 score by halftime.
Following halftime, Sean Anderson (first-year) was badly injured and was unable to play for the rest of the game. The entire gym anxiously awaited Anderson’s rise and cheered when he was able to walk to the sidelines. Anderson’s injury seemed to only further motivate the team’s morale as Connor Whitman (senior) shot a three-pointer to show that the Tigers weren’t prepared to back down.
“I was really excited coming into the game,” Whitman said. “I knew it would be my last home game at Oxy so I wanted to go out with a win.”
The game remained close. In the end, it took a nail-biting shot in the last 40 seconds of the game to bring the team to victory.
“Anything can happen in a tournament game,” Joe Sasich (senior) said. “I think the team showed a lot of poise and maturity to come back and secure the win.”
At the end of the game, the Tiger crowd rushed the team to celebrate. “I thought our crowd was tremendous; they helped us out with this victory, no question,” Jordan Schultz (senior) said.
While the Tigers suffered a loss the following Saturday to Whitworth University, this small Division III team has proven that it deserves a shot at the top. Given the team’s incredible success this season, there’s no telling what awaits the Tigers next year.
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