WHITTIER (12-31) - Avri Finch led UCSC in scoring with 18, but host Whittier closed with a 13-3 run over the last 4:32 to edge the Banana Slugs 74-67 on New Year's Eve.

UCSC dropped to 5-11 while the Poets improved to 7-4.

The game was very even with ten ties and 19 lead changes, but the difference was three-point shooting, where UCSC made just 4-23 (17.4%) while the Poets went 8-23 (34.8%). Whittier also shot lights-out from the line at 18-19 (94.7%). The Banana Slugs had a 39-30 rebound advantage.

Patrick Ramos added 14 points and four assists to enter the school's career top ten and now has 177. Haakon Ullrich had a team-high 11 rebounds to go with nine points.

UCSC concludes the Los Angeles roadtrip Thursday the 2nd at Occidental.