Box Score THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (Mar. 1, 2025) – For a couple minutes at the end of Friday night's SCIAC Tournament Semifinals at California Lutheran University, the Whittier College men's basketball team looked poised to make good on one of the biggest upsets in SCIAC Postseason history.
The Poets had engaged in a back-and-forth affair, after all, with the 20th-ranked team in the nation, though a team that seemed beatable based on the Kingsmen's visit to Whittier earlier this year. With six seconds to go, Whittier held a two-point lead, putting the onus on the Kingsmen to come through in the clutch.
Unfortunately for Head Coach Mark Jensen and the Poets, that's exactly how things would play out.
For the game's first 20 minutes, the Kingsmen looked every bit the part as the SCIAC's top-seeded team and one of the best teams in the nation. They shot 61% from the field; a torrid scoring pace that even the team with
Aamari Smith (Decatur, Ga. / Roosevelt / San Bernardino Valley College), the Division III leading scorer had trouble keeping pace with. However, given the difficulty of keeping such an incredible pace up for 40 minutes, the Poets were able to find plenty of openings in the second half to claw their way back into contention and even take the lead down the stretch.
The Poets' big comeback started with Smith, a First Team All-SCIAC player and unarguably one of the most versatile offensive weapons in the nation. The All-America candidate set a SCIAC Postseason scoring record with 36 points, getting the job done on 11-of-20 shooting against a stout Cal Lutheran defense, no less. At the free throw line, he was even better, converting on all 13 of his free throw attempts while cementing himself as one of the best players to come through the conference in some time.
Even with Cal Lutheran's big first half, Whittier still had 42 points in its own right, and in the second half, the defense began to round into form. They held Cal Lutheran to 31% shooting in the second half, paving the way for the Poets to put forth an epic comeback. Senior transfer
Andrew Milot (Murrieta, Calif. / Balboa / Knox College) gave the Poets a serious spark off the bench with 15 points, and the scoring electricity he was able to provide prompted Jensen to ride the hot hand at point guard. Meanwhile, junior wing
Chine Nwanevu (Eastvale, Calif. / Norco / San Bernardino Valley College), two nights after a breakout offensive performance against fifth-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, continued his scoring momentum with 16 points to supplement Smith in the Poets lineup.
Cal Lutheran led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but over the third quarter of the game, Whittier embarked on a 19-8 run to open things, providing a major wake-up call to the host Kingsmen. When the Poets showed they could sustain the lead late into the quarter, Smith took over the way great players always do. He accounted for 13 of his team's final 15 points, and put the Poets on top with 1:10 to go in regulation with a pair of free throws.
Unfortunately for the Poets, the Kingsmen have several great players of their own, and one of them was able to come through in the way they needed him to win the game in regulation. With two second to go, Cal Lutheran connected on a game-winning three-pointer to sink the Poets' ship once and for all, cutting a historic season at the knees.
There is still plenty to like about the Poets' future. Nwanevu, a Second Team All-SCIAC player, figures to be a key piece to the Whittier puzzle next season. Meanwhile, the emergence of players such as
Sean Cervantes (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / La Mirada) further solidifies Jensen and the Poets as future SCIAC contenders.
As for Smith, the two-time SCIAC scoring leader became the fastest Whittier player to reach 1,000 points this year when he did it in less than two seasons. He led the nation in scoring with over 28 points per game and unqequivocally put together the greatest single season in the history of the program. He is a Bevo Francis Small College Player of the Year candidate, a D3Hoops All-Region candidate, an All-America candidate and Jostens' Trophy candidate, if not for his numbers for the way in which he was able to lift a Whittier men's basketball team that saw unprecedented regular season and postseason success this season.
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