Hayashi Posts Career-High 27 Points in Win Over Portland Bible College

David Hayashi '11 celebrated the New Year in style, scoring a career-high 27 points in just 14 minutes of action as Whittier College cruised to a 94-43 victory over Portland Bible College in the Graham Athletics Center on January 2. The win improves the Poets record to 6-3 this season.

Hayashi went 10-for-14 from the field including four three-pointers.  Marcus Gibson '09 hit three shots from beyond the arc and finished with 13 points.  Mike Archuletta '09 scored ten points and grabbed four rebounds.  Vernon Covington '08 pulled down a game-high seven boards to along with six points and three steals.  Jonathon Saucedo '10 game-highs in assists (5) and steals (4). Paul Swesey '10 had eight points, four rebounds and two assists off the bench.  Twelve Poets recorded at least one field goal in the game.

Portland Bible College was led by Joe Johnson with 12 points.  Khalil Littleton finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

The Poets were hot from the start of the game, shooting nearly 60% from the field and 6-of-12 from the three-point line in the first half.  They held the Wildcats to just 30% shooting on their way to a 33-point halftime lead (53-20).  Whittier didn't slow down much in the second half, scoring on half of their shots from the field.  The Poets forced 29 turnovers in the game, while committing just 14.  They also set a season-high for steals as a team with 23. 

The Poets host the Purple & Gold Poet Classic on January 4 and 5.  Also participating in the Classic is California Lutheran University, La Sierra University and the University of California, Santa Cruz.  The Poets take on UC Santa Cruz at 8:00pm on day one, and play at the same time on day two against La Sierra.  Cal Lutheran takes on La Sierra at 2:00pm in the first game of the Classic on January 4, then faces off with UC Santa Cruz at 6:00pm the next day.