Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College Men's Basketball team returned to action over the past two days during the Purple & Gold Poet Classic going 1-1 beating Bristol University 94-66 but falling to Willamette University 84-71.

With the split the Poets move back to .500 at 4-4 as they now start Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play.

At the conclusion of the tournament junior transfer Anthony Martinez (Cerritos, Calif.) found himself on the All-Tournament team joining Brandon Luedtke (Willamette), Alex Brown (Willamette), Devontae Bryant (Bristol), Cam Haslam (Chapman), and Luke Hamlin (Chapman).     

Game 1 (Willamette; L, 84-71)

The Poets didn't have an answer on the outside for Bridger Harlington who poured in 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting, which included six triples, while at the same time finding it difficult to box out Brandon Luedtke who finished with 12 points and 18 rebounds.

Eric Jennings (Fontana, Calif.) and Martinez topped Whittier's scoring with 16 points each and Ben Maynard (Pasadena, Calif.) led the rebounding effort totaling eight.

After a scoreless first minute, Luedtke knocked down a jumper at the 18:56 mark that opened a 10-1 run for the Bearcat's and they didn't look back as they went out in front by as many as 18 midway through the second period en route to the 13 point victory.

The Poets pulled within 12-7 following a Chris Kapano (Los Alamitos, Calif.) jumper but Casey Thornton and Nico Troplent would knock down a three ball and a pair of free throws that stretched the lead back to double digits.

Whittier however closed the gap once again this time to 27-20 with 7:05 remaining before the half but again a three ball from the Bearcats, which capped off a 10-2 run would help them take a 41-31 lead into the break. 

The deficit remained at 10-14 points for the first three minutes of the second half before another 10-2 run by the Bearcats would move the margin to 56-38 with 15:12 on the clock.  The Purple & Gold responded though reeling off their own 12-2 run fueled by seven points from Martinez that pulled WC within eight at 58-50.

Harlington though came alive knocking down back to back triples that pushed the Bearcat lead to 64-52.  Whittier stayed within striking distance however, twice reducing the margin to seven points with the last coming on a jumper from Jennings with 5:45 to go. 

But that's as close as Whittier would get as Brendon McCullough would add back to back baskets followed by a Luedtke layup that pushed the lead back to double digits for WU.

Whittier shot 40.6% from the field and added 28 points off turnovers, while adding 38 points in the paint.         

Game 2 (Bristol; L, 94-66)

Whittier bounced back on day two of the Classic to earn a big win over Bristol University by 28 points, their largest victory margin of the season.  Three players recorded double figures led by Andrew Torres (Whittier, Calif.) who tossed in 19 points off the bench that went with five rebounds and two assists.

Maynard went off for 17 going 5-for-9 from deep and Mike Jones-Mensah (Ghana, Africa) had his breakout game of the season with 14 points and eight boards.

The Poets shot 47.8% from the field, 32.1% from three point territory, held a huge advantage 49-34 rebounding and added 40 points in the paint. 

The game was tight in the early stages with the Poets seeing themselves trail 6-1 following back to back three pointers from Devontae Bryant and Brian Mahood.  The Bears would stay in front for the next nine minutes to move the score to 18-14 but that would be the last lead they would hold as the Poets would add a 15-0 run that opened the game up 29-18 before ending the half with a 15-6 streak that gave them a 46-28 lead at intermission. 

Whittier maintained their hold on the lead comfortably in the second as they moved the Bear deficit to 34 with two minutes to play, sparked by their bench who poured in 43 points.       

Whittier returns to the court this Saturday in the New Year on January 2 when they travel to Chapman University to begin SCIAC play with tip-off set for 2:00pm.