WHITTIER, Calif. — Hakim Arnold had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Anthony White scored 34 and the La Verne men's basketball team beat Whittier 97-96 on Saturday night at Graham Athletic Center.

With a putback basket early in the second half, Arnold became the eighth player in La Verne history to score 1,000 career points. After tonight's game he has 1,015.

La Verne improves to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Whittier falls to 6-7 and 1-4.

Arnold didn't have the most efficient night but came through when it mattered the most, tallying 17 points, eight rebounds and two assists in the second half as the Poets made a charge. Whittier went on an 18-5 run late to grab an 88-87 lead—its first since the 16:44 mark in the first half—with 3:33 to go. Arnold answered right back, hitting both free throws after drawing a foul. He went to hit two more clutch shots to hold the Poets at bay.

After an Arnold layup put the Leopards up 95-93 with nine seconds left, Whittier's Anthony Martinez went coast-to-coast unimpeded but lost the ball out of bounds going up for shot.

Connor Head chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and two assists for La Verne off the bench. Cruz Mertens added 10 points.

Eric Davis led Whittier with 26 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Nick Potthoff scored 22 points and grabbed five rebounds and Chris Kapano had 18 points and five assist.

White scored 23 of his points in the first half on 8-of-9 shooting, including 7-of-8 from beyond the arc, and the Leopards led by as many as 24 points in the first half. But the Poets close the first half on an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 15 heading into the break and continued to chip away in the second half.

The Leopards are back in action on Thursday at home against Cal Lutheran.