Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

REDLANDS, Calif. - Whittier saw its 17-point first half lead turn into a two-point deficit at the intermission but the Poets outscored Redlands 50-37 in the second half to earn the upset win over the Bulldogs, 88-77, on Saturday evening.

David Hayashi scored a game-high 27 points which includes 12 from the three-point line to lead the purple and gold.

Drew Menez, the conference's leading scorer, added 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting. DaMon Perry finished one rebound shy of a double-double as he went for 12 points and nine boards.

Whittier trailed 8-7 just two minutes into the game but went on a 20-4 run to take a 28-11 lead with 10:50 left in the first half. The Bulldogs answered with a run of their own to reclaim the lead for the first time in nearly 17 minutes, 35-34.

Redlands led 40-38 at the intermission.

The Poets quickly erased the Redlands lead with a pair of jumper from Menez and held no more than a six-point cushion until UR went up 53-52 with 13:13 to play.

The Redlands one-point lead was the last time the Bulldogs would be ahead. Hayashi connected on seven straight Whittier points to give WC a 59-56 lead.

Three times over the next six minutes the Bulldogs cut the lead to two points as Redlands got as close as 73-71 with 4:17 left but Whittier ended the game on a 15-6 run en route to the 11-point win.

Whittier shot 49 percent from the field and was 9-of-20 (45 percent) from beyond the three-point line. The defense held Redlands to a 38 percent shooting effort.

The Poets are still mathematically alive for the fourth playoff spot. Whittier is two games back of fourth place with three to play. WC's next game is on Wednesday evening against Claremont-M-S.