Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. (Feb. 21, 2022) – The Whittier College men's basketball team will enter the 2022 SCIAC Postseason Tournament with the wind at its back thanks to another impressive victory over Occidental College on Monday night. The Poets won the season finale, 93-87, completing the season sweep of the Tigers.

Junior wing Jordan Kanoe (San Antonio, Texas / Santa Monica College) got things done for the Poets on both ends of the floor, and his ability to create for both himself and his teammates opened up a world of scoring possibilities for the home team. The senior scored 14 points to go with five assists, and got in the way of four Occidental shots on the defensive side of the ball. Kanoe has been an absolute menace on his home floor to close the season, combining for 31 points on 63-percent shooting over the final two games of the 2021-22 regular season. While his unique combination of size and athleticism gave the Tigers fits, seniors Ahmad Young (Sunnyvale, Calif. / De Anza College) and Kyle Price (Rocklin, Calif. / Cal Maritime Academy) also rose to the occasion, accounting for more than half of the home team's total rebounds while Young dumped in 19 points to tie junior guard Bryant Howing (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / Rio Hondo College) for the team lead. The senior's big night puts him within 20 points of 1,000 for his career, and he'll be afforded at least one more game to reach it given the structure of this year's tournament.

Though the Poets handled the Tigers with relative ease in the previous meeting, the visitors had something to play for in Wednesday's game, needing a win to guarantee a postseason birth without help from around the conference. Monday's game was no exception to the idea that basketball is a game of runs, however, and it would be the Poets who put together the most emphatic run of the game to close the show. After the Tigers took their first lead of the game with just under five minutes to play, the Poets began to turn up the heat defensively, forcing the visitors into some tough spots while generating some opportunities in transition that ultimately won them the game. One such play occurred when senior Nick Colosi (La Mirada, Calif. / La Mirada) willed the ball away from the Tigers' top guard, took control after a scramble and initiated a two-on-one with Young, ultimately finishing the play with his first dunk and only dunk of the season that brought the Poet faithful to their feet. Colosi would finish the game with 13 points, four rebounds and three steals in what will likely go down as his final home game with the Poets. 

Collectively, Whittier shot a solid 46.4 percent from the field, but also approached similar numbers from deep thanks in large part to sharpshooting freshman Cameron Stiepock (Glastonbury, Conn. / St. Andrew's Prep). Stiepock's accuracy with the deep ball paid dividends in the first half, helping to stake the Poets to a nine point lead. He also drew fouls from beyond the arc on two different occasions, one of which resulted in a four-point play that helped kill an early Tigers run.

Head Coach Mark Jensen and the Poets will now turn their attention towards the postseason, where they will meet up with SCIAC runner-up Chapman University on road on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.

Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), Facebook, YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!