Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

SPOKANE, Wash. – Whittier was held scoreless over the final 4:30 of the game as the Banana Slugs evened the season series with a 53-47 win on Saturday at Whitworth University on the first day of the Whitworth Classic.

The Poets (4-3) shot just 31 percent from the floor and finished just 1-of-18 from the three point range as they were outscored 32-19 in the second half en route to the six-point loss.

Damon Perry and Nathan Easterman each scored a team-high eight points to lead the purple and gold. Perry added nine rebounds in the loss.

Whittier led for the majority of the first half and built as large as a 13-point advantage with just 2:54 left before the intermission. UC Santa Cruz closed the gap to 28-21 with a modest 6-0 run to end the half.

The Poets came out of the break with momentum and held a 39-27 lead before UCSC mounted its comeback. An 8-9 run by the Banana Slugs cut the count to 39-35 and after Whittier pushed its lead back to nine points UC Santa Cruz closed the gap even more.

Whittier led 45-44 at the 5:24 mark and later held a 47-46 lead with just 3:05 left in regulation but never scored another point.

The Banana Slugs scored 21 points off their bench despite being outscored 30-22 in the paint.

Whittier will face Whitworth tomorrow afternoon.