Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands and Currier Gym is one of the toughest places to play within the conference but Thursday night, the Whittier College Men's Basketball team was able to go in and hold off the Bulldogs 76-72 to move back to .500 on the season.

The Purple & Gold bounced back following a devastating loss to La Verne at home last week improving to 7-7, 2-4 SCIAC, while Redlands drops to 5-10, 1-5 SCIAC.

It was a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown, which included 13 lead changes, nine tied games, and a 13-point swing with the winner being produced in the final minute.

The team traded punches in the early stages of the game until the five-minute mark when the Poets stretched a one point lead to six at 28-22 behind a triple and layup from Conner Longmire (Tarzana, Calif.).  Longmire responded on the Poets next trip with another three-pointer but the Bulldogs would then respond pulling within two and swinging the momentum.

But Whittier would thwart the attack with a 5-0 spurt over the next :44 seconds with Longmire again connecting from deep, while Richard Kaye (Tustin, Calif.) would add a jumper from inside the paint that gave WC a 37-30 lead at intermission.

In the second half the Bulldogs clawed their way back erasing a nine point deficit and taking a 53-51 lead for the first time in the second stanza.  Longmire would come up big on Whittier's ensuing possession being fouled shooting a three-pointer and would subsequently knock down all three free throws that gave Whittier back the lead 54-53.

Redlands extended the advantage to four soon after but again Whittier would respond with a big shot again from Longmire who drained another tre that kept it a one possession game with 8:50 to play.

The back-and-forth battle ensued over the next few minutes with neither team able to pull away.  Then with 1:39 to go, the fireworks went off, as Nick Potthoff (Phoenix, AZ) would drain a well-timed three-pointer that gave Whittier a 69-65 advantage.

Redlands responded with their own three-pointer on their next possession and would then take a missed Poet jumper the other end for a dunk from Jesse Wims that gave them a 70-69 lead with :29 seconds to play.

But again Longmire would continue remaining hot from deep knocking down a three-pointer that put the Poets in front 72-70.  UR would miss their ensuing shot and with :16 seconds to play, Longmire would secure the win with two free throws, while Louis Kurihara (Culver City, Calif.) would add insurance.

Longmire finished with 22 points off the bench going 6-of-13 from the field and 5-of-7 from deep.  He also hauled in nine boards.  Eric Davis (Ventura, Calif.) registered a nice stat line with 16 points and seven boards with three assists, a steal and a block.

Potthoff added 13 points with six rebounds and Jordan Lingard (DU, Australia) would miss a double double by one with 10 points and nine rebounds.           

Whittier remains on the road tomorrow, Saturday, January 21 as they travel to Chapman University with game time set for 4:00pm.