Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College Men's Basketball team suffered a tough loss Saturday 67-65 to Chapman University falling on three free throws with under :30 seconds to play.
The Purple & Gold who have been red hot within Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play drop now to 8-6, 3-2 SCIAC and sit in a three-way tie for 2nd with Chapman University and Claremont-M-S.
The highlight of the afternoon came from junior Nick Potthoff (Phoenix, AZ) who recorded his 1,000th Career point, which came early in the second half on a layup. He finished with nine points, six rebounds, and three steals.
It all came down to the final minute to determine the winner of the big SCIAC showdown. Whittier led 65-62 with 1:35 to play in the game thanks to a triple from Ahmad Young (Sunnyvale, Calif.). After a CU layup from Alex Rogat the Poets held onto a one-point lead with under :30 seconds to play. Following a missed lay-up from Nick Manor-Hall (Chino Hills, Calif.), the Panthers had an opportunity on their next trip down. With the shot clock winding down Hayden Moore had a look from the corner, and even though his shot was off the mark was able to pick-up the foul on Kenyatta Louder (Compton, Calif.) sending him to the free throw line for three. He would eventually knock down all three giving CU a 67-65 advantage.
Whittier had a couple looks down the stretch for the lead/tie as Journey Shank (Burbank, Calif.) would get off a three-pointer from dead on. The offensive rebound would go to Potthoff who would put up a jumper in the paint, but his look would come up short as CU would haul down the defensive board. Rogat would then get fouled after he would bring down the defensive board but he couldn't put the game away as he would miss the front end of a one and one. This gave WC one final look, which again came from Shank and for the second time his look would rattle out allowing the Panthers to hold on for the come from behind victory.
The game saw eight ties and nine lead changes with a majority of the back and forth occurring in the first half. The largest lead of the game came with under a minute to play in the first half as Whittier held a ten point lead at 34-24 thanks to an 11-0 run that included seven free throws from Young, Manor-Hall, and Jude Agbasi (Los Angeles, Calif.). Sam Barela ended the run with a layup to get it back to single digits, but as time expired Shank would pick up a steal and an assist feeding Louder for a two handed jam moving the deficit back to double digits at the break.
Chapman started the second half on a 9-3 run that got them within four at 39-35. After getting within two on a couple of occasions they finally would tie things up at the 10:47 mark with a Moore triple. Agbasi would respond on the Poets next trip down with his own three-pointer and Nick Colosi (La Mirada, Calif.) would add a layup, free throw and three-pointer that put WC back on top by three at 57-54. The scoring then went back and forth after that with neither team grabbing a lead as many as three down the stretch.
Young led the Poets on offense with 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting that went with five rebounds, two assists and four steals. Agbasi added 10 points off the bench and Louder registered nine points with five boards. Shank again had a strong game with six points but added five assists, four steals, and five boards.
Whittier shot 39.6% from the field and 28.6% from three-point territory. They were outrebounded 39-32, but earned a 28-24 edge in the paint. They also forced 16 Chapman turnovers and got 20 points off of them.
Whittier returns to the road this Wednesday, January 15 when they travel to take on Pomona-Pitzer beginning at 7:00pm.
