Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College Men's Basketball team was stunned at home Wednesday evening as they fell 73-64 to Occidental College in the Graham Athletic Center dropping their record to 6-7, 3-3 SCIAC.

The Poets started the game off hot shooting 50% from the field with 12 points coming from Andrew Torres (Whittier, Calif.) that helped give Whittier a 42-33 lead at the break.  Seven unanswered with a Mike Jones-Mensah (Ghana, Africa) lay-in and a lay-up and three-pointer from Anthony Martinez (Cerritos, Calif.) would give the Purple & Gold a 27-17 lead bringing the Poet Pit to their feet.

Oxy managed to throw in their own 8-2 run soon after that cut the deficit to six but Eric Jennings (Fontana, Calif.) would respond with six straight, which included two lay-ups and a pair of free throws that extended the Poet lead back to double digits giving them a lead at intermission. 

The second half proved the complete opposite with the Poets going cold from the field being outscored 40-22 and shooting a mere 29% from the field, which included a 7.1% clip from behind the arc. 

This allowed the Tigers to get back into the game erasing the nine-point deficit they faced at halftime.  Whittier managed to hold a lead at 48-46 at the 15:00 mark, Andrew Johnson would knock down two free throws on the Tigers next possession that tied up the game but Jake Moore (Dallas, TX) would put the Poets back on top with a triple moving the score to 51-48. 

The game then turned into a back and forth battle with the lead changing on five different occasions.  Whittier held a 58-55 lead with 9:01 to play in the game after two free throws from Jones-Mensah and a lay-up from Jennings.  But the Tigers would storm back with an ensuing 10-1 run that moved the momentum back with Oxy giving them a lead they wouldn't relinquish at 67-59.

Martinez attempted to keep the Poets close with two lay-ins and a free throw under two minutes to play but it wouldn't be enough as Jay Miller would ice the game with the last six points, which included four free throws. 

Torres led the Poets with 13 points.  Jennings and Martinez would add 12 apiece and Jones-Mensah would add nine points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes of action.      

Whittier remains at home this Saturday, January 23 as they take on the University of Redlands beginning at 2:00pm.