CLAREMONT -- The Cal Lutheran men's basketball team is saving its best for last.
Aaron Fisher's 3-pointer with eight seconds left -- and just one second left on the shot clock -- gave CLU its second lead of the night, and that was enough to propel the Kingsmen to a 65-62 win at Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday night, moving the Kingsmen into a tie for the final spot in the SCIAC conference playoffs.
With its fourth straight win, CLU improves to 12-10, 6-5 in the SCIAC, tying Pomona (10-12, 6-5) for the final place in the four-team conference tournament.
"Their perseverance has paid off," said CLU coach Rich Rider. "We kept saying all year long -- even when we went through all of our speed bumps -- just persevere ... and it will slowly turn."
Fisher's winning shot -- a straightaway 3 from the top of the arc -- was just his second basket of the night and ninth 3-pointer this season.
"We ran a play for Kyle (Knudsen)," Fisher said. "Kyle wanted to take the shot; he's our best shooter."
But Pomona had Knudsen covered, so the shot fell to Fisher with the clock winding down.
"It was an option," said Rider, "but it was not the first option. ... He's a gamer. He's tough when he wants to be."
Pomona inbounded, and after three timeouts with four seconds left -- two by the Sagehens, one by the Kingsmen -- David Liss' corner 3-pointer to tie bounced off the rim as time expired.

The full story will be in Sunday's Star. More to come here later.