Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

LANCASTER, Calif. – The Whittier College Men's Basketball team continued where they left off from the 2015-16 season as they jump started their 2016-17 campaign with a blistering offensive outpouring in a 96-75 victory over West Coast Baptist.

Whittier (1-0) shot 42% from the field and held a comfortable lead at 46-33 at the break.  11 players saw the court led by junior guard Louis Kurihara (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) who poured in 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, which included five three-pointers.  He also added five assists. 

Five other players registered double digit efforts.  Newcomer Eric Davis (Ventura, Calif.) just missed out on a double double as he totaled eight points and 10 rebounds.  Chris Kapano (Los Alamitos, Calif.) added 11 points and was 5-of-7 from the field along with five boards.  Jake Moore (Dallas, TX) had a strong game also missing out on a double double finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds.  Junior forward Jordan Lingard (DU, Australia) had a big first game as well as he picked up 10 points and five boards, while going 4-of-6 from the field.  Conner Longmire (Tarzana, Calif.) also added 11 points, while Nick Potthoff (Phoenix, AZ) was 4-of-9, going 4-of-8 from behind the arc for 13 points, while hauling in eight rebounds.          

Whittier leaves for three days over the Thanksgiving break to Washington as they take part in the Pacific Lutheran Tournament.  Friday, November 25 the Poets take on Pacific Lutheran beginning at 8:00pm and then follow the very next day on Saturday, November 26 as they take on Puget Sound with tip-off set for 6:00pm.