CLAREMONT, Calif. - Cal Lutheran men's water polo came up short in its bid for the top seed heading into next weekend's SCIAC Championships. The Kingsmen suffered an 8-2 road loss to Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday to conclude its regular season schedule.

Cal Lutheran was held scoreless for almost the entire first half until Brandon Gross converted a five-meter penalty shot in the final minute of the second quarter. In the meantime Pomona-Pitzer scored a pair of goals in each of the first two frames to build a 4-1 halftime advantage.

Jason Cox scored a pair of first half goals for the home squad. Teammates Cody Moore and Dylan O'Connell each scored their second of the game late in the third quarter putting the Sagehens out in front by a 7-1 margin.

Nathan Ortega added a late fourth quarter score for the other CLU goal. Max Zappas led the Kingsmen with three drawn exclusions.

Cal Lutheran goalkeeper Danny Mock made seven saves in the loss. Pomona-Pitzer goaltender Kyle Pokorny stopped 12 Kingsmen shots in the win.

Cal Lutheran (14-9, 5-2 SCIAC) fell from a tie for first into a tie for third place in the regular season conference standings. Redlands will earn the No. 3 seed courtesy of its head-to-head victory over the Kingsmen back on Oct. 15.

The Kingsmen will face tournament host and No. 5 seed La Verne on Friday, Nov. 11, in the opening round of the SCIAC Championships.