Poets and Claremont Go down to the Wire, Gibson Finishes With Seven Three's

Marcus Gibson '09 hit seven three-points, but Whittier College lost a heartbreaker, 67-66 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in SCIAC play on February 9.  The loss drops the Poets record to 10-10 overall and 3-6 in conference play.

Gibson was 7-for-10 beyond the arc and finished the game with 24 points.  Jeff McLean '09 scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds.  He was 9-for-9 from the free throw line.  Vernon Covington '08 and Mike Archuletta '09 each had eight points and six rebounds. 

The Poets shot 46.8% and equaled Claremont's rebound total at 27.  Whittier lost the turnover battle 17-13.  The Poet reserves contributed 25 points, while Claremont's bench accounted for ten. 

The Stag's were led by Chris Blees with 18 points and seven rebounds.  Dan Winterbottom and Conner Faught each scored eleven points.  Austin Soldner finished with ten points. 

With the score tied at five early on, the Stags went on a 10-0 run to give them the largest lead of the game less than seven minutes in.  The Poets chipped away at the deficit and eventually took the lead on a pair of free throws by Bill Ritter '08 with 19 seconds remaining.  The two teams were tied 34-34 at the half, and nine times in the game. 

The Poets started the second half with a 7-0 run.  Claremont tied the game once again at the 11:49 mark. The teams traded the lead five more times in the half, and neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way.  With less than a minute remaining, the Stags took a two-point lead on a Winterbottom jumper.  McLean tied the game at 66 with 22 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws.  Claremont held for the final shot and with three seconds left, Archuletta was called for a loose ball foul that put Winterbottom on the line for a chance at the win.  He missed the first, but made the second and Claremont escaped with the one-point victory.

The Poets are in action again on February 13 when the University of La Verne comes to town for SAAC's 80's Night.  The game is scheduled to start at 7:30pm in the Graham Athletics Center.