Phoenix, Ariz. – Whittier College (Calif.) outscored Arizona Christian University (1-8) by 18 points in the last 15 minutes of the second half and defeated the Firestorm, 94-78. The Poets improved their record to 4-2, while ACU absorbed its seventh consecutive loss. 

ACU travels for two Pacific Christian Athletics Conference (PCAC) games next week, playing at West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, California, Friday, Dec. 16, at 8:30 p.m. Arizona time, and at La Sierra University in Riverside, California, Saturday, Dec. 17, also at 8:30 p.m. 

Senior forward Drew Menez finished with a game-high 22 points, 15 in the second half, made 6 of his 8 shots and 2 three-pointers, and gathered 7 rebounds, and senior forward Nathan Easterman totaled 19 points, 12 in the decisive second half, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots and 3 steals. Whittier's reserves, which outscored ACU's substitutes, 40-17, with freshman forward Jacob Porter scoring 10 and sophomore forward Tyree Landrum contributed 12 points and 4 rebounds. Reserve guard Kenny Albritton added 9 points, 3 three- pointers, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. 

Senior guard Josh Cole (Phoenix, Ariz./Westview H.S.) led ACU with 18 points, 9 in each half, made 11 of his 13 free throws and had one three-pointer, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, and senior guard Houston Friend (Phoenix, Ariz./Scottsdale Christian Academy H.S.) totaled 16 points, 11 in the first half, 4 three-pointers, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Sophomore guard Albert Suniga (Phoenix, Ariz./Tolleson Union H.S.) scored 11 points, and had 4 rebounds, 3 assists and one steal, and junior guard A.J. Koch (Tucson, Ariz./Flowing Wells H.S.) also scored 11 points, 8 in the first half, and had 4 rebounds, one assist and one steal. Sophomore forward Daniel Cornelius (Phoenix, Ariz./Phoenix Christian H.S./Vanguard University) finished with 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. 

Off the ACU bench, sophomore guard Derek James (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Alta Loma H.S./Vanguard University) contributed 8 points, 7 in the second half, 3 rebounds and one steal, and freshman forward Jared Culbert (Henderson, Nev./Coronado H.S.) scored 6 points and grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds and passed off 2 assists. 

After shooting a hot .577 (15-26) with four three-pointers in the first half, Arizona Christian went ice cold from the field in the second half, making just 8 of 23 shots (.348) with one three- pointer. The Firestorm shot .469 (23-49) from the field for the game, made 5 of its 16 three- pointers (.313) and 27 of its 36 free throws (.50) and committed 25 turnovers and stole the ball seven times. The Poets shot .479 from the field for the game (34-71) and .529 in the second half (18-34), and made 8 of their 18 three-pointers (.444) and 18 of their 24 free throws (.750). Whittier out-rebounded ACU, 37-32, committed just six turnovers, blocked four ACU shots and stole the ball 10 times. 

ACU started the game in synch, leading 10-2 after the first three minutes, and the teams tied at 19-19 with 10 minutes left in the first half. Whittier opened a 43-35 lead with 4:04 left in the first half, its biggest lead of the half, but ACU came back to slice the advantage to 49-46 as Friend hit two long three-pointers under pressure in the last 1:32, and totaled 11 first-half points. 

Easterman scored four points in the first 2:13 of the second half, giving the Poets a 53-49 lead, but Friend drained his third three-pointer at 17:18, slicing the lead to 53-52, and Suniga tied the game at 53-53 with a free throw at 16:59 and put ACU ahead, 55-53, with a driving lay-up at 15:38. The lead exchanged sides five times in the next 90 seconds of the game until Whittier went ahead to stay, outscoring ACU 38-20 over the last 15 minutes of the game.