CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo team scored the first two goals of the game and never gave up the lead as it captured a 13-11 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday to earn the SCIAC Tournament Championship at Haldeman Pool. 

With the win, CMS improves to 22-5 on the season and will serve as the host of the USA Water Polo Division III Championships, which will be held on Dec. 6-7 at Axelrood Pool. The Stags also avenged their only regular season loss to a Division III team, a 10-9 overtime defeat to Pomona-Pitzer on the road back on Oct. 29. 

Thomas Walker scored three goals, and Jeffrey Koretz and Nick Kennedy each added two for the Stags, who led 7-3 at the half and built a lead up to as much as five goals in the second stanza at 9-4, before holding on for the two-goal win. Senior goalie Jake Taylor had nine saves for the Stags to earn Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. 

CMS jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Walker and Koretz four minutes into the game. Jack Bryant answered one Pomona-Pitzer goal and Walker answered another with 37 seconds left in the quarter to give CMS a 4-2 lead after the first eight minutes.

After the Sagehens closed to within 4-3, CMS scored the final three goals of the half, with Ivey Gehring converting the first one, Donovan Davidson tallying one with 2:08 left in the half, and Walker scoring his third 28 seconds later. 

The score held at 7-3 for the first four minutes of the second half, before Pomona-Pitzer scored with 3:50 left in the third, which was answered 30 seconds later by Koretz. Stryker Scales scored for the Stags with 1:41 left in the third to give CMS its largest lead, before the Sagehens scored on two straight possessions. 

Nick Kennedy, who picked up two exclusions and had to sit for most of the first half, came up bit with a shot with eight seconds left in the third to make the score 10-6, and then answered another Pomona-Pitzer goal with 5:12 left in the game to make it 11-7. The Sagehens scored twice in a row to make it 11-9, but Luke (Bear) Weigle scored a big goal with 1:54 left to make it a three-goal lead. 

Pomona-Pitzer got to within 12-10, but Gavin Netherton sealed it with 13 seconds left, before the Sagehens beat the buzzer to make the final 13-11. 

CMS will host the USA Water Polo Division III nationals for the first time. The Stags defeated Redlands to win the 2023 championship at Augustana, before Redlands won it last season.