Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. (Feb. 19, 2022) – The Whittier College men's basketball team put together one of its most complete performances of the season against Caltech on Saturday evening, playing like it had the wind at its back after a 19-point Poets scoring run closed out the first half.

The massive run came out of necessity, as Caltech got hot early, finding a rhythm with the deep ball. However, the Poets showed some early resistance with some big moments from senior guard Nick Colosi (La Mirada, Calif. / La Mirada) and freshman guard Kunal Bagga (Anaheim, Calif. / Servite). While the Beavers continued to show a propensity to score, they would not score again for the rest of the first-half after hitting 27 points with just over five minutes to go. From there, the Poets embarked on a torrid offensive pace not short on pace, ball movement and lights out shooting. A Bagga pull-up jumper started the run, and following one of the Beavers' 24 turnovers, senior center Kyle Price (Rocklin, Calif. / Cal Maritime Academy) delivered a two-handed jam on a pass from senior guard Ahmad Young (Sunnyvale, Calif. / De Anza College). Though both offenses would go quiet for the next 90 seconds, Whittier would be the one the break out of the slumber, frustrating Caltech into some offensive miscues while captializing at the other end primarily by way of high-percentage shots. Price, who scored nine of his 11 points during the run, mixed in a mid-range jumper to go with his six points in the paint. Jordan Kanoe (San Antonio, Texas / Santa Monica College) would later go on to punctuate the run with a layup before turning away a Caltech shot at the end of the half, putting the exclamation point on arguably the best stretch of basketball the Poets have played all season. Earlier in the run, Kanoe energized the crowd with a thunderous jam over one of Caltech's top defenders, a key element in one of the Poets' highest attended games of the season.

Needing to keep up the same level of energy in the second half, the Poets answered the call, starting things off on an 11-5 run. Young and Kanoe came through as the top Whittier producers over the final 20 minutes, scoring 19 of the home team's 41 points. While the Beavers continued to pressure the Poets with their level of execution on the offensive end, they also accrued 17 second-half personal fouls, giving the Purple & Gold, an above-average free-throw shooting team in the SCIAC, plenty of opportunities to supplement their lead. The Poets' offensive dominance cannot be ignored, as they went on to score 88 points on 50-percent shooting, but they were every bit as good defensively, particularly during the first-half and during the 19-point run. Whittier held Caltech's top two scoreres without a field goal through the first 20 minutes, and although just eight of Caltech's turnovers directly resulted in steals, the high-energy Poets forced the Beavers into a string of bad spots, resulting in a 3-in-the-key call, some bad passes and instances of the Beavers stepping out of bounds.

With one regular season game remaining the Poets are locked into the seventh seed in the upcoming SCIAC Postseason Tournament. Even with a University of Redlands loss on Monday, the Poets would hold the same head-to-head record as the Bulldogs against the top three SCIAC teams, but two Redlands wins over California Lutheran University would give them the edge in the event of a tie. Therefore, the Poets will most likely be looking at a first-round matchup with Chapman University in Orange on Wednesday.

Head Coach Mark Jensen and the Poets will look to take some momentum into the postseason when they host Occidental College on Senior Night, Monday Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.

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