Box Score ORANGE, Calif. (Nov. 22, 2024) – Behind another impressive outing from senior guard
Aamari Smith (Decatur, Ga. / Roosevelt / San Bernardino Valley College) and others, the Whittier College men's basketball team showed once again it could score points in its up-tempo style against Willamette University on Friday evening.
Smith came just three points shy of a 40-point performance, dazzling on 60 percent shooting. The senior did a little bit of everything, putting on a show in a game where 191 total points were scored by both teams. He also had six assists, finding new ways to get his teammates involved. Because of that, the second-year Poet was not the only player to produce on Friday night. Junior wing
Chine Nwanevu (Eastvale, Calif. / Norco / San Bernardino Valley College), a former teammate of Smith's at San Bernardino Valley College, double-doubled in the sixth-man role with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard
Roy Kalu (Lynn, Mass. / Pioneer Charter School of Science / Roxbury Community College) impressed in a similar fashion with 15 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Smith was not the only player to move the ball around. Senior point guard
Andrew Milot (Murrieta, Calif. / Balboa / Knox College) has worked in nicely with the Poets lineup this season and finished the game with five assists himself. Together, he and Smith combined for roughly 70 percent of the Poets' assists for the game. Milot has also helped the men's basketball team take better care of the ball through the season's first three games, as the Poets came away victorious in the turnover battle 13-23. Whittier lacked in its fast break scoring in comparison to its previous two games, but the team's offensive efficiency helped them stay competitive against a tough team in a game that featured nine lead changes.
Head Coach
Mark Jensen and the Poets will be back at the Chapman Invitational for another 5 p.m. game on Saturday, Nov. 23. They will take on Texas Lutheran University in what should be another tough test for the Purple & Gold.
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