Second Half Struggles Lead to Poets' First Conference Loss

Mike Archuletta '09 scored a team-high 14 points, but Whittier College lost its first SCIAC game of the season to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps by a score of 69-54.  The Poets are now 8-5 overall and 1-1 in SCIAC play.

Archuletta went 5-for-8 from the field and was perfect from the free throw line.  He was also credited with three steals.  The only other Poet in double figures was David Hayashi '11 with ten points.  He hit a pair of three's and finished with two assists and two steals.  Marcus Gibson '09 scored nine points, all from beyond the arc.

The Stags (8-5, 2-0) had four of their five starters finish with double-digit points.  They were led by Chris Blees with 20 points.  Dan Winterbottom finished with fourteen points.  Craig Borengasser posted a double-double with 13 points and ten rebounds.  Austin Soldner also scored 13 points and was credited with seven assists.

The two teams battled back and forth in the first half.  The largest lead for either team was six points, an advantage the Poets held twice.  The score was tied for the seventh time in the half (35-35) on a pair of free throws from Archuletta thirty seconds prior to the break.  Both teams were hot throughout the first half, with the Stags shooting nearly 70% from the field and the Poets shooting 52% with five three-pointers. 

The Poets shooting struggled in the second half.  They made just five field goals in the half and scored just 19 points. With the score tied for the eighth time in the game at 37, Claremont went on a 14-point run and never trailed again.  They took an 18-point lead with one minute left in the game and went on to the 69-54 victory.

The Poets are in action again on January 19 when they travel to La Verne.  The SCIAC contest is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30pm.