LOS ANGELES (Dec. 2, 2023) – The Whittier College men's basketball team took a tough draw against Occidental College in a road contest on Saturday afternoon.
Nine different Poets scored, as the Purple & Gold succeeded in spreading the ball around. The Poets kept things close with the host Tigers in the first half, trailing by just eight points through the game's first 20 minutes. Junior guard
Aamari Smith (Decatur, Ga. /Â San Bernardino Valley) led Whittier with 13 points. Smith, along with fellow junior transfer
Jake Estep (Portland, Ore. / Umpqua CC), each had six points to support the visitors in the first half, but it's also worth mentioning that several Poets thrived in individual moments to keep things close early.
As things played out, the Tigers made the necessary defensive adjustments to prevent the Poets' high octane offense from truly taking off. However, the Poets continued to make economical choices with the basketball, as they have all season up to this point. The Purple & Gold turned the ball over just four times to Oxy's 17, but ultimately found a tough matchup with the home team's low post players. Elsewhere, junior transfer
Ignacio Bettinelli (San Jose, Calif. /Â West Valley CC) followed up his 29-minute showing at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges with 19 on Saturday night, while junior guard
Roy Kalu (Boston, Mass. / Roxbury CC) delivered a substantial contribution off the bench with 11 points.
Another plus for the Poets came in the form of senior guard
Kevin Dobson (Corona, Calif. / San Diego Christian College). Dobson, one of the team's three captains, dished out five assists in 20 minutes to lead all players. He also swiped three steals while committing nary a turnover.
Head Coach Mark Jensen and the Poets will return on Tuesday, Dec. 5 when they travel to the University of California, Bakersfield for a 7 p.m. game.
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