Men's Basketball Tripped Up by Kingsmen, Gibson '09 Scores Team-High 18 Points

Marcus Gibson '09 scored a team-high 18 points, but Whittier College lost 76-67 to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe, California Lutheran University at Graham Athletics Center on February 3.  The Poets are now 8-11 overall and 2-6 in conference play.

Gibson was 3-for-5 from three-point range and 5-for-7 from the free throw line.  Jeff McLean '09 finished with a double-double with eleven points and eleven rebounds.  He also blocked three shots and had three steals.  Donovan White '10 was 11-for-11 from the charity stripe and finished with 13 points.

The Poets went on an 8-2 run at the end of the first half to tie the score at 27 going into the break.  The Kingsmen (14-5, 7-1 SCIAC) opened the second half with a 15-3 run to give them a lead they would not relinquish.  Cal Lutheran shot nearly 55 percent from the field in the second half to widen their lead to as many as 13.  The Poets cut the lead to four with 1:25 left in the game, but the Kingsmen were perfect in their last eight free throw attempts to close out the game.  They finished shooting 89 percent (16-for-18) from the free throw line in the game.  The Kingsmen held a 40-33 rebounding edge and held the Poets to just 33 percent shooting from the field.