SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Lewis & Clark College men's basketball used a strong defensive effort and balanced scoring to defeat Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 55-44 in the opening game of their Santa Cruz tournament appearance at Kaiser Permanente Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
THE BASICS

Lewis & Clark 55, Pomona-Pitzer 44
(Lewis & Clark 2-0)
(Pomona-Pitzer 2-1)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
First-year Jake Rodriguez led three Pioneers in double figures with 14 points, while senior Sam Henderson recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Taien Jackson added 10 points on efficient 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
 
Nate Berg, who made his season debut, added six points and five rebounds while providing strong interior defense with two blocked shots. The senior went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to lead the Pioneers at the line. 
 
The Pioneers established control early in the first half, building a 30-23 lead at the break. Rodriguez scored 12 of his points before halftime, hitting two of three total baskets from beyond the arc in the game. His first three-pointer gave Lewis & Clark the lead at 5-2 just four minutes into the game, and the Pioneers never trailed the rest of the day.
 
Henderson and senior Ryan Trunkett combined for 12 of Lewis & Clark's 19 first-half rebounds with seven and five, respectively. Trunkett finished with six rebounds and an assist.
 
Pomona-Pitzer pulled within four points (34-30) early in the second half after leading scoring Joe Cookson (22 points) scored five of the first seven points for the Sagehens after the break.
 
Lewis & Clark then went on a 9-3 run in which Jackson, Henderson, junior Andre Treadwell (five points) and senior Sebastian DePrez (two points, four rebounds) scored to make it 43-33 before the 12-minute media timeout.
 
Henderson hit two free throws late in the half to give the Pioneers their largest lead, 53-35, with four minutes to go.
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Lewis & Clark held Pomona-Pitzer to 21.4 percent shooting (12-of-56) from the field, including 0-for-19 from three-point range.
• Senior Khalil Glover-Dodson finished with four points, three rebounds and two assists.
• Lewis & Clark earned their first win over a team from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) since an 83-82 win over Whittier College at a tournament in Santa Cruz on Dec. 12, 2019.
• The Pioneers are 2-0 to start a season for the first time since 2014-15.
• Pomona-Pitzer is one of four teams on the Pioneers' schedule that were ranked or received votes in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top-25 Poll. The Sagehens earned 32 votes.
• Henderson joined Berg in leading the team with two blocked shots.  

 WHO'S NEXT
 
Lewis & Clark will conclude their road trip by taking on host UC Santa Cruz tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. in West Field House.