WHITTIER, Calif. (Feb. 26, 2025) – The Whittier College men's basketball team made history in the Graham Athletic Center on Wednesday night, winning a SCIAC Postseason Tournament game for the first time ever since the postseason tournament format was implemented in 2008. The fourth-seeded Poets knocked off the fifth-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens, 79-68, coming through in a big way in the first SCIAC Tournament game hosted in Whittier in nearly a decade.
The win gives the Poets their first-ever three game series victory over the Sagehens, a program that has become a regular in the SCIAC postseason. Conversely, the Poets hadn't been to the tournament since 2015-16, though even with the five-team format, the Poets would have been the last team in this year's field. Instead, they hosted a Pomona-Pitzer team that finished .500 in the SCIAC regular season, but has shown glimpses of past form throughout the 2024-25 regular season. That's especially true with the way the Sagehens have been able to defend this season, though All-America candidate
Aamari Smith (Decatur, Ga. / Roosevelt / San Bernardino Valley College) is a different animal entirely. Smith has been able to deliver in games totally agnostic to who the opponent is this season, and it has resulted in him finishing the regular season as the Division III leading scorer with 27.7 points per game.
On Wednesday, Smith logged his usual 38 minutes, and once again, the Sagehens had few answers as far as stopping the star senior. He posted an impressive 25-6-7 line, impacting the game both with and without the ball in his hands. However, the real key to Whittier's victory on Wednesday night might have been
Chine Nwanevu (Eastvale, Calif. / Norco / San Bernardino Valley College), a former teammate of Smith's at San Bernardino Valley College. Nwanevu scored 19 points alongside eight rebounds as is typical for him, but on Wednesday, he heated up from deep in way he hadn't yet this season. Over the final 10 minutes of the first half, Nwanevu keyed an incredible Poets finish to the period by knocking down three consecutive triples which propelled him to an equally impressive second half. Meanwhile, thanks to the junior transfer, Whittier was able to finish the half on an 11-2 run that the stage for what was to come.
Sophomore guard
Sean Cervantes (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / La Mirada), who has developed into something of a floor general for the Poets this year, took command in the second half where he played most of his minutes, picking up three assists. Senior wing
Ignacio Bettinelli (Quilmes, Argentina / Ann Sobrato / West Valley Community College) also gave the Poets three assists in the second half while helping to lock down defensively on the Sagehens' shooters. Pomona-Pitzer shot just 2-of-16 from deep in the first half and while their second half numbers improved, they ultimately couldn't keep the Poets, and chiefly Smith, off the free throw line Whittier attempted 20 second half free throws after just two in the first half, and by converting on all but three of them, they were able to significantly curtail the Sagehens' chances at getting back into contention.
Head Coach Mark Jensen and the Poets will face an incredible test in their SCIAC Tournament Semifinal matchup. They will head to Thousand Oaks, Calif. to take on the top-seeded Kingsmen on Friday, Feb. 28. Cal Lutheran is currently ranked 20th per the latest poll from D3Hoops.com.
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