LOS ANGELES  Whitman's No. 1-ranked Blues answered a 10-0 run by host Occidental College with a 22-10 response over the remaining minutes of the game, storming back to take a 73-69 win in non-conference men's basketball action Sunday afternoon in Rush Gymnasium.

The win lifts the top-ranked Blues to 7-0 while the Tigers (6-2) drop their second of the season.

Whitman had used a 16-10 spurt as the second half neared its midpoint to erase a 47-39 deficit, tying the game at 49-49 on a fading layup from Tim Howell on an inbounds pass from the end line, then edging in front on a fast-break layin by Howell following a defensive rebound from Austin Butler.

The game of streaks flipped in Oxy's direction after that bucket, though, as the Tigers sandwiched their unanswered 10-point run around seven Whitman misses and six turnovers.

The Blues broke Oxy's momentum with a Joey Hewitt rebound at one end and a Hewitt layup at the other to begin the game-deciding run.

A Jack Stewart layup, Hewitt 3-pointer, Hewitt steal and Howell layup, Trevor Osborne steal and jumper, and Stewart steal and layup pushed Whitman past the Tigers and into a 64-59 advantage with 5:53 to play.

Oxy finally ended its scoreless streak with one of two from the foul line, but a Hewitt jumper followed by a Howell steal and jumper, Oxy turnover, and Stewart layup-and-one provided Whitman with its first double-digit lead of the game, 71-60, with exactly three minutes on the clock.

Both teams had success down low throughout the game as Whitman notched 44 of its points from within the paint while the Tigers dropped in 34 from in close. But that 10-point difference was certainly a factor in the outcome with Whitman hitting 30 shots from the floor compared to 28 by Oxy.

At times it seemed as if the Blues' relentless defensive pressure was being subverted by the Tigers, but looks can be deceiving. Whitman forced 28 turnovers, with help from 18 steals, and scored 32 points off those turnovers.

Balanced scoring, or at least team scoring also came into play.

Howell led Whitman with 18 points, Stewart added a dozen, and Osborne hit for 10, but five other players scored at least five points for the Blues.

In contrast, Oxy was led by Zach Baines' 25 points, with more double-digit scoring from Austin DeWitz (16) and Caleb Yellin-Flaherty (10), but only three other Tigers registered any points -- and at that, for only a combined 18 points.

Held to 40 points below its season-scoring average, the Blues still were able to find a way to win what is, for them, a low-scoring game. Oxy entered the game scoring 80 a game and allowing just 63 points from opponents, numbers that will be adversely affected by Sunday's outcome.

Whitman picks up another non-conference game in California on Monday afternoon, when it will take on host University of La Verne at 2 p.m.