WHITTIER, Calif. (Jan. 29, 2025) – Senior guard
Roy Kalu (Lynn, Mass. / Pioneer Charter School of Science / Roxbury Community College) of the Whittier College men's basketball team filled a huge void for the Poets in the rematch against Occidental College, and led his team to a 75-71 victory on Wednesday night.
The aforementioned void came as a result of
Aamari Smith (Decatur, Ga. / Roosevelt / San Bernardino Valley College), Division III's leading scorer, being unavailable. While Kalu and Smith have seamlessly coexisted in recent games, on Wednesday, Kalu was able to step into Smith's combo guard role and deliver a clutch scoring performance. He led all players with 23 points while shooting a plus-50% clip from the field. Perhaps just as notable, Kalu's 23 points came inside 25 minutes, as he came off the court in the second half and would not return.
Another Poet to step up in Smith's absence was sophomore
Sean Cervantes (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / La Mirada). The sophomore guard has been as hot as any Poet as of late, and continued his recent string of strong performances with a 14-point, seven-assist effort that saw him particularly begin to heat up late in the game. Whittier had to contend with a deep and experienced Occidental squad, and do it while shorthanded, but the Poets' healthy bodies did more than simply up to the plate -- they also showed they could be trusted in crucial late-game situations. With the Tigers nipping at the heels with five minutes to go, Whittier finished the game on a 9-7 run and managed to successfully keep the visitors at bay.
The defense and rebounding of junior guard
Chine Nwanevu (Eastvale, Calif. / Norco / San Bernardino Valley College) proved to be a huge piece of the puzzle. Nwanevu dominated the offensive glass with seven of eight rebounds coming off his own team's shots and put his athleticism on full display -- first on a key block late in the first half, and later on a fastbreak dunk he created with his own takeaway. For the game, the Poets managed to keep up with the Tigers on the glass and wound up victorious thanks in large part to being the more effective team from three-point land. The Poets' wing players,
Ignacio Bettinelli (Quilmes, Argentina / Ann Sobrato / West Valley Community College) and
Jaden Mathis (Pasadena, Calif. / Pasadena / Palomar College), each contributed a trio of three-pointers.
Head Coach
Mark Jensen and the Poets will look to make it consecutive wins when they head to the University of La Verne this weekend for a rematch of their overtime game in Whittier earlier in January.
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