WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College men's basketball team opened its season with an 80-79 victory over No. 25 Willamette on Saturday at the Graham Athletics Center. The Poets led by as many as 16 in the first half but needed a basket in the final seconds to hold off the Bearcats.
Willamette hit two early 3-pointers to take a 6-2 lead. Whittier answered with 13 straight points, 11 of them from J.D. Duley, who was named SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Week following the win. Duley hit three 3-pointers during the stretch, and
Tochi Onyeador blocked two shots as the Poets went ahead 15-6.
The Bearcats closed within four at 17-13 before Guerrero sparked a 12-0 run with a jumper. Duley scored five points and
Amari Gray added a layup before Guerrero capped the run with a three, giving Whittier its largest lead at 29-13. Willamette scored 13 of the final 15 points of the half to cut the margin to 37-33 at the break.
Willamette pulled even at 40 early in the second half and went ahead 43-42 on another three. Duley put Whittier back in front with a jumper and added another before Guerrero connected from deep. Five seconds later, Duley hit a three while drawing a foul and made the free throw, finishing an 11-0 run that put the Poets up 53-43.
Whittier still led 63-51 midway through the half when the Bearcats scored 11 of the next 12 points to pull within two. Duley pushed the margin back to four with a three, but Willamette scored six straight to go ahead 71-69 with 4:35 remaining. Guerrero answered with his fourth 3-pointer of the game, and the lead changed hands again before the Bearcats went up 77-73 with 2:12 to play.
Sean Cervantes made two free throws to cut the deficit in half. After a Willamette miss, Onyeador found Duley for his ninth three of the afternoon, putting Whittier ahead 78-77 with 1:22 left. The score held until the Bearcats made two free throws with 29 seconds remaining to take a 79-78 lead.
With five seconds on the clock, Cervantes found Guerrero in the paint for the go-ahead layup. Willamette got one final look from beyond the arc, but the shot missed and Whittier held on for the upset.
Duley finished with 36 points, four assists and two steals, shooting 9-for-16 from beyond the arc. Guerrero scored 16 points off the bench, Onyeador grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds, and Cervantes handed out eight assists, including the pass that set up the game-winner.
Whittier begins the 2026-27 campaign 1-0 and returns to Dave Jacobs Court on Saturday, Nov. 14, to host the University of Puget Sound at 1:30 p.m. Catch all the action on
FloCollege.
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