Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – The 32nd Annual Purple & Gold Poet Classic got underway Saturday evening and after a poor shooting performance in the early stages of the game, Whittier was able to come from behind to beat Cal State Maritime 94-82 in the Graham Athletic Center to move back to .500 at 4-4.
The Poets returned senior center Tyree Landrum (Los Angeles, Calif.) who has been out since November 16 due to a knee injury and what an impact he made in coming off the bench playing 24 minutes, which included 12 points on 4-5 shooting with a game high eight boards and three blocks making his presence felt inside.
Whittier trailed by as many as 15 early in the contest when they trailed 18-3 and were unable to match the intensity and tempo of the Keelhaulers until the 14:56 mark when they went on a 10-0 run with five coming from Michael Alvarez (Long Beach, Calif.) that helped the Poets pull within five 18-13. CSUM extended their lead back to double digits 37-22 with 8:19 to play until the Poets would chip back into the Keelhauler lead to pull within eight at the break.
The second half proved differently for the Purple & Gold as they would rally back to outscore CSUM by twenty 51-31 en route to the 12 point victory. WC would put together an early 13-0 run with eight coming from junior Nick Demusis (Miliani, HI) who finished with 12 points that put the Poets in front 60-57 for the first time in the game. The game would be all tied up twice more from that point on and the Keelhaulers would regain the lead 67-62 minutes later with two free throws from Anthony Simi and a three pointer from Dominique Barnes but it would be short lived as the Purple & Gold would rally back with nine unanswered thanks to a corner three from Eric Jennings (Fontana, Calif.) who totaled 13 points on 3-4 shooting going 2-3 from deep.
Cal State Maritime would pull within one 71-70 with 8:08 to play but that's as close as they would get as the Poets would use another 7-0 run, a late three ball from Jacob Porter (Temecula, Calif.) and strong free throw shooting down the stretch to hold off the Keelhaulers to earn the first victory of the Purple & Gold Classic, while snapping a two game losing skid.
Both teams shot over 50% from the field with the Poets shooting 75% from the charity stripe. The Poets were outrebounded 36-27 but had the edge on the bench 32-27.
Chris Barnes-Williams (Salt Lake City, UT) finished with a game high 25 points on 7-14 shooting with six boards, two assists, and four steals, while David Richardson (Los Angeles, Calif.) totaled nine points on 4-5 shooting along with seven assists, and two steals.
Cal State Maritime saw four players record double digits with 16 coming from Grant Blaser and Barnes. Blaser finished 4-8 from deep, while Barnes was 2-2. Erik Hanson totaled 13 points and six boards, while Simi chipped in with 15 points on 6-11 shooting off the bench.
Whittier returns to action Monday, December 30 in the final game of the Classic as they host Pacifica College beginning at 7:00pm.
