WHITTIER, Calif. (Jan. 11, 2024) – Senior guard
Aamari Smith (Decatur, Ga. / Roosevelt / San Bernardino Valley College) of the Whittier College men's basketball team cemented himself as a legitimate SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year candidate with more late-game heroics against the University of La Verne on Saturday afternoon.
Smith played 43 out of a possible 45 minutes -- that's because the game went to overtime. The Poets had to contend with a hot-shooting La Verne team that managed to hang with the home team's fast rate-of-play and outside scoring. However, while Smith has shown himself to be one of the best transition players in the country and something of a clutch shooter, this time he got the job done on the defensive end as well as at the free throw line. He had three steals between the second half and overtime period, and even notched the game-tying basket and go-ahead free throw late in overtime.
In response to a field goal that gave La Verne the lead, Smith drove back down the court to force the Leopards to catch up with him. Smith turned the opportunity into a successful and-one play that put the Poets on top for good. From there, Smith and junior
Chine Nwanevu (Eastvale, Calif. / Norco / San Bernardino Valley College) iced the game with free throws. Little did Smith know, however, that by sinking the final two free throws, he would finish a perfect 17-for-17 on the night in one of the all-time great Whittier free throw shooting performances.
As for Nwanevu, the junior would double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds. As dominant of a line as it was, Nwanevu and Smith were not the only players to step up in the win. Senior guard
Roy Kalu (Lynn, Mass. / Pioneer Charter School of Science / Roxbury Community College) exploded with a career-high 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Whether driving to the hoop or pulling up for jumpers, Kalu had a ton of success against the La Verne defense, helping neutralize any run the Leopards could hope to put together. With the game as tight as it was, the Poets couldn't have done it without Kalu, whose intensity on both sides of the ball can give teams problems on any given night.
Saturday's game was one where Whittier's final lineup deviated greatly from the start of the game. Kalu, while chief among the Poets' closers was not the only player to earn key minutes down the stretch. Junior wing
Jaden Mathis (Pasadena, Calif. / Pasadena / Palomar College) and senior wing
Ignacio Bettinelli (Quilmes, Argentina / Ann Sobrato / West Valley Community College) showed they could hit big shots down the stretch, play physical defense and rebound. Still, the Leopards just wouldn't go away, and it took one of the nation's best pure scorers to will the home team to its third SCIAC win of the season.
Head Coach Mark Jensen and the Poets are off to their best conference start since the 2015-16 season when Director of Athletics
Rock Carter was still coaching the team. Next up for 3-1 Whittier will be Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on the road on Wednesday night.
Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!
