At times clearly the best team on the floor, the Whitman men's basketball team clung to victory in the last ten minutes of what became a close ballgame, downing the visiting Australia Pro Hoops All-Stars 73-68 Saturday night in Sherwood Center. The game was the first for the Missionaries this season, although the win and the stats compiled during the contest, an exhibition match, will not count in season totals.
In the first half, Whitman was on cruise control and led by as many as 20 points before heading to intermission with a 49-33 cushion. The All-Stars opened the second half with rekindled passion, but for the first ten minutes, the results were much the same, and the Missionary lead held steady. Then, with ten minutes to play and Whitman up 69-47, the Australians closed out the game on a 21-4 run to make matters interesting. The visitors got to within three points before Whitman's Kevin Justice iced the victory with a pair of free throws with four seconds to play.
Justice, who sat out all of last season recovering from a torn ligament in his knee, ended with six points and seven rebounds in his first game action since February of 2000.
Whitman's leading scorer was newcomer Scott Erickson, who finished with a game-high 18 points. Erickson was six of seven from the free throw line and knocked down four shots from three-point.
Rich Harris, another bright spot for Whitman, added 11 points, two steals and two assists in 31 minutes of action. Harris, who missed all but four games last season due to an irregular heartbeat, hopes to be healthy this season.
Missionary senior Ben Fuller hit five of his nine shots from the floor in scoring 13 points. He also had five rebounds before fouling out with five minutes to play in the game.
The Missionaries were outrebounded by the taller All-Stars 49-34. Derrick Thomas led Australia with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Moors chipped in 11 for the guests.
Whitman was 11 of 13 from the charity stripe, while the All-Stars hit only 19 of 33 free throw attempts.
Lopata Classic, hosted by
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Down by five points at intermission and trailing by as many as 11 early in the second half, the Whitman men's basketball team rallied down the stretch for a season-opening 81-80 victory over Trinity University in Friday's opener of the 18th annual Lopata Classic at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Missionaries advance to Saturday's tournament title game to play the Bears of Washington, who rolled to a 99-68 victory over Vermont's Middlebury College in Friday night's other first-round game.
Whitman's Mark Bouma hit two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to clinch the one-point victory over Trinity, an NCAA Div. III school from San Antonio, Texas. Trinity missed a chance to tie or win the game when reserve Charles Jessup misfired on two free throw attempts with seven seconds left on the clock.
Playing his first game as a Missionary, junior transfer Scott Erickson scored 14 of his 24 points in the second half to key Whitman's comeback. Ben Fuller, a senior captain, added 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Sidetracked by nearly eight hours of flight delays, Erickson and Fuller were among four Missionaries who didn't arrive in St. Louis until 7:30 a.m. Friday. Despite jet lag and a lack of sleep, Erickson and Fuller were deadly from the 3-point stripe. Erickson was seven of 11, while Fuller was two of three. As a team, Whitman was 13 of 29 from long distance.
Trinity jumped in front early and led for all but 37 seconds of the first half. The Tigers held a 26-18 lead midway through the half, but the Missionaries stayed close, knotting the score at 36 and again at 39 on a pair of Erickson treys. A 6-1 spurt over the final three minutes gave Trinity a 45-40 halftime lead.
The Tigers widened their lead in the first five minutes of the second half. A 3-pointer by freshman guard Jason Morris, who led all scorers with 27 points, pushed Trinity into a 58-47 lead with 15:22 left on the clock.
Erickson started Whitman on its comeback, sandwiching a three and short jumper around a Kevin Justice lay-in. That cut the Missionary deficit to 58-54 at the 12:56 mark, and the fight was on. The remainder of the contest featured five tie scores and eight lead changes.
After Erickson and sophomore Cale Will hit two more 3-pointers, sophomore Jake Pounds bagged a fast-break lay-in to vault Whitman into its first lead of the second half, 62-61, with 9:44 still left to play.
Trinity twice regained the lead, but another of Erickson's treys and a two-point hoop by freshman Nick Parker produced two more deadlocks. Neither team led by more than three points over the final six minutes of play.
Two more Missionary's 3-pointers, one by sophomore Bryan Erlebach and one by Erickson, produced Whitman leads of 72-71 and 75-73. Trinity responded with four unanswered points, but Missionary sophomore Rich Harris converted a lay-in with two minutes remaining to forge a 77-77 tie.
After Trinity's Nate Coelen nailed a three, Whitman's Fuller hit twice from the charity stripe with 1:12 on the clock to trim the Tiger lead to 80-79. Fuller's free throws added a touch of irony, in that he had missed all five of his previous attempts from the line, and set the stage for Bouma's winning free throws in the closing seconds.
Erickson and Fuller were the only Whitman players with double digits points, although eight other Missionaries dented the scoring column. Erlebach and Bouma both finished with eight points, with Erlebach adding four assists.
Justice, one of three senior captains, added seven assists, six points and four rebounds in his first game after missing last season because of a knee injury.
Rob Bell, the third captain and Whitman's center, had seven points and three boards while battling Trinity's surplus of big men. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 33 to 28.
Harris, who missed last season with an irregular heartbeat, played 22 minutes, contributing four assists, three steals, three rebounds and two points.
The Missionaries picked off nine steals and forced the Tigers into 20 turnovers. Whitman had just 12 turnovers.
Lopata Classic, hosted by
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Spurred by their raucous home fans, the Washington University Bears defeated the Whitman men's basketball team 77-60 in Saturday night's championship game of the 18th annual Lopata Classic in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Bears, who roughed up Middlebury College 99-68 in one of Friday's first-round games, jumped on Whitman early, bolting to leads of 8-1 and 14-3 in the opening minutes. The Missionaries regrouped and responded with an 11-2 run, pulling to within 16-14 with 10:43 left in the first half. Whitman's spurt included two buckets each from Kevin Justice and Rob Bell and a 3-pointer by Cale Will.
Washington never surrendered the lead, although Whitman closed to within two points on two other ocassions, thanks to hoops by Nick Parker and Ben Fuller. Justice canned a pair of free throws with 3:18 on the first-half clock, trimming the Missionary deficit to 27-24.
When Jake Pounds drained a 3-pointer at the 1:39 mark, Whitman still trailed by just four points, 31-27. The host Bears finished up the half on a 6-2 run to lead 37-29 at the break.
Fuller and teammate Mark Bouma drew their third fouls in the first minute of the second half, and the Missionaries had difficulty mounting a serious challenge the rest of the way. But Whitman still trailed by just eight points, 47-39, when Bryan Erlebach converted a pair of free throws with 12:52 left to play.
From that point on, however, the host Bears pulled away and led by as many as 21 points late in the game.
Justice, who was named to the all-tournament team, finished the night with 14 points and five rebounds. In Whitman's 81-80 victory over Trinity Friday night, Justice had seven assists, six points and four rebounds.
Bell also had a good night for the Missionaries, collecting 10 points and eight boards. Fuller, who finished with four fouls and played just 17 minutes, added eight points and six rebounds.
Playing 13 minutes off the bench, Will connected on both of his 3-point attempts, scoring six points to go with two rebounds and two assists. Pounds also hit a pair of treys, contributing six points and three rebounds. Scoring off the bench was one bright spot for the Missionaries, who held a 32-12 edge in that category.
Unlike Friday night, when they were 13 of 29 from 3-point range, Whitman was off the mark from beyond the arc, finding the net on just four of 12 attempts against Washington. The Bears were cold as well, canning just six of 25 3-point shots, but they compensated by making 23 of 30 free throw attempts. The Missionaries, who had trouble drawing a foul at times, were just 12 of 21 from the charity stripe.
The Bears blocked 11 Whitman shots and forced the Missionaries into 21 turnovers. Washington had just 14 turnovers.
Washington's Chris Jeffries, the tournament MVP, dinged the Missionaries for 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jeffries scored 28 points Friday night in the victory over Middlebury.
Washington's Jarriot Rook, also named to the all-tourney team, had 20 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in Saturday's championship tilt.
A perennial winner in the University Athletic Association, Washington was 23-4 a year ago, advancing as far as the NCAA Div. III regional semifinals before losing by a single point. The Bears were ranked No. 11 nationally in this year's preseason poll.
In Saturday's consolation game, Trinity rolled to a 90-49 victory over Middlebury.
Middlebury's John Donnelly and Trinity's Jason Morris also made the all-tournament team.
Despite leading 40-33 at halftime and shooting over 50 percent from the field for the night, a short-handed Whitman men's basketball team fell victim to second-half calamities and dropped a 70-68 non-conference decision to Eastern Oregon University Tuesday in LaGrande, Ore.
The Missionaries are now 1-2 on the season, while the Mountaineers remain undefeated at 2-0. Eastern Oregon, an NAIA Div. II school, is a member of the Cascade Conference.
Whitman extended its lead to as many as 16 points early in the second half and still led by 11, 59-48, with 11:59 left to play. The Mountaineers evened the score at 62-62 at the 5:57 mark and then took the lead for good at 67-66 when Scott Collins hit a 3-pointer with 4:25 on the clock.
Sophomores Cale Will and Jake Pounds, two Missionary reserves who both contributed a pair of 3-pointers to Whitman's last game, missed Tuesday's contest due to illness. "Not having Cale and Jake on the floor made a big difference at the defensive end," Whitman coach Skip Molitor said. "That forced us to change our entire defensive approach to the game."
Shooting the ball was a bright spot for the Missionaries, who made 26 of 48 shots from the field and had three players score in double figures. Senior post Rob Bell had a strong night, shooting seven-of-13 from the field in leading the Missionaries with 17 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Junior transfer Scott Erickson shot five-of-six from the field, including three-of-four from long range, giving him 13 points to go with a team-leading five assists. Erickson's backcourt mate, Ben Fuller, added 11 points on four-of-seven shooting. Fuller led the team in rebounds with seven, all on the defensive end, and contributed two steals.
Junior Mark Bouma and sophomore Bryan Erlebach each finished with eight points and four assists.
Eastern Oregon's Trevor Exline led all scorers with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
The two teams matched up nearly identical on paper, though a 29-23 rebounding advantage in favor of the Mountaineers may have been the difference. Eastern Oregon managed 14 offensive boards, while Whitman managed only seven on the offensive end.
Whitman had 14 turnovers to Eastern Oregon's 15, while Whitman's shooting percentage (54.2 percent) was a tad higher than the Eagles (47.4 percent, 27-of-57).
Whitman returns to action Thursday night in the first game of the Wildhorse Resort Classic, when the Missionaries play cross-town rival Walla Walla College at 7 p.m. in Sherwood Center.
Wildhorse Classic, hosted by
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
Breaking the century mark for the first time since December of 1998, the Whitman men's basketball team outscored neighboring Walla Walla College 113-103 Thursday night in the opening game of the seventh annual Wildhorse Resort Classic in Sherwood Center.
The win evens Whitman's record at 2-2. The Wolves drop to 2-4 on the year.
Senior captain Kevin Justice scored 13 of his game-high 24 points in the first half, sparking Whitman to a 66-47 lead at the break. Justice made ten of 16 shots from the field, adding a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in 32 minutes.
The Wolves raced in front at the game's outset, however, notching the first five points on a Landon Libby lay-in and a Ryan Moore three-pointer. They led by as many as seven points and stayed in front for the first nine minutes of regulation. Whitman responded with seven straight points to knot the score at 19-all with 13:36 left in the half.
The Missionaries claimed their first lead when Jake Pounds knocked down a three-pointer at the 10:53 mark. That bucket sparked a surge that moved Whitman into a 34-26 lead that mushroomed as intermission neared.
Whitman coach Skip Molitor was more than pleased with his team's first half performance. "Obviously, a very impressive first 20 minutes," Molitor said. "Justice and Mark Bouma really led the way to start the game."
The Missionaries continued to roll early in the second half, extending their lead to as many as 28 points with 13:46 left to play. But the Wolves battled back, thanks in large part to 14 second-half points from Richie Gilliland.
Down 84-56, the Wolves cut the lead to single digits at 98-90 with 2:10 left on the game clock. Forced to foul, Walla Walla could not get any closer, and the Missionaries sealed the game at the charity stripe, hitting 15 of 18 free throws in the final two minutes.
"The second half took too long," Molitor said. "Give Walla Walla credit. They compete for 40 minutes, and they just pounded the boards and pounded the ball inside time after time."
Walla Walla snared 23 offensive rebounds and outrebounded Whitman 50-33 overall.
Justice was one of six Missionaries who scored in double figures. Sophomore Bryan Erlebach finished with 17 points, four assists and four steals. Bouma and Scott Erickson each finished with 15 points, while Rob Bell and Cale Will tallied 11 points apiece. Bell made all five of his shots from the field, but the senior captain was in foul trouble from the get-go and played just 13 minutes. Erickson added five steals and five assists, despite spraining an ankle early in the game.
As a team, Whitman hit 63 percent of their first-half shots and finished at 54 percent for the night. All ten Missionaries who played found their way into the scoring column.
The final score represents the most points scored by the Missionaries in a single game in Molitor's seven-plus seasons as a coach. Thursday night's outburst fell just short of the 117 points the Missionaries posted in a triple overtime victory over Pacific Lutheran on Feb. 1, 1992.
Ben Fuller, one of Whitman's starters, missed most of the offensive fireworks, playing just three minutes (scoring seven points) before leaving the game with a bruised back. In the night's scariest play, Fuller drew an intentional foul while getting knocked to the floor on a dunk attempt. His availability for Whitman's game Saturday night against Montana State-Northern is uncertain.
Fuller and Erickson weren't the only Missionaries who suffered through a rough physical night. Bouma, who also collected five rebounds and four steals, landed hard on his right elbow early in the first half, hyper-extending it. He stayed in the game, however, and eventually logged 25 minutes on the court.
Whitman's Rich Harris missed the game entirely because of ongoing problems with an irregular heartbeat. Harris hopes to play in Saturday's game.
Gilliland with 22 points and Libby with 17 paced Walla Walla. Also in double figures were Jon Claridge with 15 points and Hans Tulip with 12. Both Claridge and Tulip pulled down 10 rebounds.
The Wildhorse Classic continues Friday afternoon when Walla Walla plays Montana State-Northern at 2 p.m. in Sherwood Center. Whitman closes out the tournament Saturday with a 6 p.m. game against Montana.
As the men's tournament continues, the Whitman women's team will play its first home games of the season this weekend in Sherwood Center. Whitman hosts Evergreen State College at 7 p.m. Friday and Cascade College at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Wildhorse Classic, hosted by
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
Despite losing its leading scorer to a dislocated finger early in the game, the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team pulled away from Walla Walla College 110-93 Friday afternoon at Sherwood Center. The game was the second of three in the seventh annual Wildhorse Resort Classic, hosted by Whitman.
The loss, Walla Walla's second of the tournament, leaves the Wolves at 2-5 on the young season. MSU-Northern, an NAIA Div. I team, upped its season record to 7-1.
After Jermaine Walton dislocated the middle finger on his shooting hand less than ten minutes into the ballgame, the Northern Lights kept rolling on the way to a 57-44 halftime lead. Walton left with nine points, two assists and a steal in nine minutes of action. He is unlikely to play in the final game of the tournament, Saturday's 6 p.m. game against Whitman.
In front throughout the contest, Montana was paced by 22 points from Josh Hays, who hit nine of his 10 shots from the field. The Northern Lights had a host of players in double digits, including KC Moultrie with 18, Jeff Graham with 19, E.J. Little with 14, and Jared Moultrie with 12.
Hans Tulip, who poured in 27 points, making 10 of 16 shots from the floor, led Walla Walla. Tulip added five offensive rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in 23 minutes of action.
Landon Libby, who dislocated the thumb on his shooting hand Thursday night against Whitman, added 18 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes. Libby, who played with a heavilky taped thumb and shooting hand, didn't seem to be bothered by the injury, canning eight of 14 shots.
Also scoring in double figures for the Wolves were Ryan Moore with 11 points and Andrew Carroll with 10. Jon Claridge added eight points and eight rebounds. Walla Walla won the rebounding battle 42-41.
After Saturday's 6 p.m. tournament finale between Whitman and the Northern Lights, an all-tournament team and Most Valuable Player will be announced.
Wildhorse Classic, hosted by
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
Josh Hays scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as Montana State-Northern pulled away from a two-point halftime lead and rolled to an 85-69 victory over Whitman in the championship game of the Wildhorse Resort Classic Saturday night in Sherwood Center.
Hays, who was eight of the 10 from the floor and 10 of 11 from the free throw line, walked away with the tournament's Most Valuable Player award. In his first tourney game against Walla Walla College on Friday, the 6-foot-6 senior center hit nine of 10 field goal attempts in scoring 22 points.
The Northern Lights, an NAIA Div. 1 team, improved to 8-1 on the season. The NCAA Div. III Missionaries saw their record drop to 2-3.
Whitman, which held its only lead at 8-7 early in the game, fell behind by as many as eight points in the first half. But the Missionaries rallied to twice tie the score, first at 29 and then at 31, before Montana State-Northern slipped away to a 35-33 halftime lead.
The visitors took charge after the break, outscoring Whitman 18-6 with an outburst that included 10 points from Hays. The Northern Lights extended their lead to 60-44 with 8:17 left to play, but the Missionaries cut the deficit to 10 points, 61-51, on Rob Bell's three-point play at the 6:45 mark.
After another surge by the Northern Lights, Whitman could draw no closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Missionary freshman Nick Parker, a graduate of Malta High School in Montana, hit a 3-pointer with 3:20 remaining to cut Whitman's deficit to 68-57. Thirty seconds later, sophomore Cale Will, a graduate of Montana's Conrad High, hit a hoop and the Missionaries still trailed by 11, 70-59.
Hays helped seal the Northern Lights victory by canning nine consecutive free throws in the closing minutes. His three-point play in the paint with 11 seconds on the clock completed the scoring.
Bell, Whitman's 6-foot-8 senior center, paced his team with 16 points and six rebounds. Bell was named to the all-tournament squad along with senior teammate Kevin Justice.
Others named to the all-tourney team were K.C. Moultrie, who scored 32 points for the Northern Lights in his two games, and two players from Walla Walla College, Landon Libby and Richie Gilliland.
Whitman's Mark Bouma, also a graduate of Montana's Conrad High School, had 15 points and five boards in Saturday's championship game. Will, who hit a trio of 3-pointers, finished with 11 points and four boards.
The Missionaries outhustled the much taller Northern Lights for a 36-34 advantage on the backboards. Bell and sophomore Bryan Erlebach topped Whitman with six rebounds apiece. Erlebach also contributed eight points, five assists and two steals.
E.J. Little, a 6-foot-6 forward, was a force for the Northern Lights with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Point guard Jermaine Walton added 15 points and four assists.
Whitman played its second straight game without starter Rich Harris, who has been sidelined at times the past two seasons with an irregular heartbeat. Another of Whitman's starters, Ben Fuller, played just 16 minutes, scoring eights and nabbing four rebounds. Fuller took a nasty fall in Whitman's first tournament game against Walla Walla College, playing just three minutes in that contest.
Scott Erickson, Whitman's starting point guard, sprained an ankle against Walla Walla College and managed just six points and four assists against Montana State-Northern.
O.J. Gulley and the high-scoring Linfield Wildcats handed the Whitman men's basketball team a 95-84 loss as the Missionaries opened their Northwest Conference season in McMinnville, Ore.
Gulley, who entered the game averaging 27 points, hit for 29 as the defending NWC champs improved to 2-0 in league and 4-3 overall. Whitman dropped to 0-1 and 2-4.
Seniors Kevin Justice and Ben Fuller paced Whitman with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Sophomore Bryan Erlebach added 15 points, four rebounds and four assits.
Rob Bell and Jake Pounds each scored 11 points for the Missionaries. Bell grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
The Missionaries moved in front midway through the first half, taking a 14-13 lead on Mark Bouma's layin with 12:20 remaining. A baseline jumper by Jake Pounds and Fuller's 3-pointer extended Whitman's lead to seven.
The Wildcats pulled even at 28 with 7:40 left in the half and then took the lead for good at 31-30. A 15-2 Linfield spurt over the next three minutes threatened to break the game open, but Whitman closed out the half on an 11-2 to keep the contest close at 48-44.
Linfield nailed seven 3-point shots in the first half, offsetting Whitman's 55 percent shooting performance in the opening 20 minutes.
The Wildcats pulled away in the second half and led by as many as 15 points with 11:29 showing on the clock. The Missionaries clawed back to within eight points, 85-77, with 3:31 left, but Gulley answered with a rare four-point play to ice the victory.
For the game, Whitman made 28 of its 54 shots (52 percent) from the floor. The Wildcats shot just 46 percent but compensated with a total of 10 3-point baskets. The Missionaries hit just five times from behind the arc.
Ben Fuller, Mark Bouma and Bryan Erlebach combined for 39 points, hitting 15 of 22 shots from the floor, but it wasn't enough to keep the Missionaries from falling to a 77-61 non-conference defeat at Carroll College Saturday night in Helena, Mont.
Carroll, an NAIA Div. I school, improved to 11-3 on the season. The Fighting Saints are ranked No. 24 in the NAIA national ranking.
The loss dropped Whitman to 2-5 on the season heading into Sunday's home game with Pacific Union College (Angwin, Calif.).
Fuller paced the Missionaries with 19 point. He was seven of ten from the floor and made both of his 3-point attempts. The senior guard is now eight of 13 from the 3-point line on the season.
Erlebach, a sophomore guard, also hit both of his 3-point attempts in scoring 10 points. He is nine of 14 from long range on the season.
Bouma scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds. Rob Bell added nine points and a team-high six boards for the Missionaries.
Both teams shot well in the first half, which ended with Carroll on top 40-35. The Saints were 17 of 29 from the floor (58.6 percent), including six of 11 from the 3-point arc, in the opening 20 minutes of play. Whitman was 15 of 26 from the floor (57.7 percent), which included a three of four showing from long distance.
Shooting on both sides cooled off in the second half as Carroll pulled away for its double-digit win. The Saints won the battle of backboards 31-28.
With sophomore Cale Will erupting for a career-high 21 points, a short-handed but hot-shooting Whitman men's basketball team bounced back from a long road trip to roll past Pacific Union 95-56 Sunday evening in Sherwood Center.
The Missionaries, now 3-5 on the season, played Saturday night at Carroll College in Helena, Mont., and then spent a good part of Sunday traveling back home by van. Once the team was back on campus, two of Whitman's starters, senior Ben Fuller and junior Scott Erickson, watched from the sidelines, choosing not to play on Sunday because of religious reasons.
Despite the factors working against them, the Missionaries enjoyed one of their finest long-range shooting nights in years. As team, Whitman nailed 10 3-pointers in the first half, when the game was still competitive, and finished the night by making 16 of 28 attempts from the 3-point stripe.
Will led the way, hitting six of eight from long distance, but he also had plenty of help. Sophomore Rich Harris, sidelined the past month by an irregular heartbeat, was four of six from downtown. Mark Bouma was two of two, Nick Parker two of three, and Mike Peterson one of two.
The Missionaries, who shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the first half, didn't cool off much over the final 20 minutes, making 57.1 percent of their second-half shots.
Bouma and Harris both finished with 16 points. Bouma added five rebounds while Harris picked off four steals.
Rob Bell also scored in double figures, combining 12 points with seven rebounds. Point guard Bryan Erlebach had seven points, seven boards and six assists.
Senior Kevin Justice helped keep the offense flowing smoothly, handing out 10 assists while scoring six points. Parker scored nine points off the bench, and Jake Pounds collected six rebounds to help Whitman dominate the backboards 36-17.
With eight of its first 11 baskets coming from 3-point range, Whitman jumped in front 30-24 in the game's first 12 minutes of play. Pacific Union rallied for a brief 31-30 lead at the 2:51 mark, but the Missionaries finished the half on a 13-5 run to take the lead for good.
With Bell and Justice outscoring the Pioneers 11-2 to start the second half, Whitman extended its lead to 54-38 and was never seriously threated for the remainder of the half.
Whitman does not play again until Friday and Saturday, Dec. 28-29, when it travels to California to play Dominican University and Bethany College.
In the first of two games on a California road trip, the Whitman men's basketball team lost to Domincan University, 75-54, Friday afternoon in San Rafael, Calif. The loss dropped the Missionaries to 3-6 on the season, while the NAIA Div. II Penguins improved to 8-6.
Dominican, a member of the California Pacific Conference, placed second last season in the six-team Northern Division with a 10-5 league record. The Penguins won twice in their post-season conference playoffs before losing by four points in the championship game to the College of Notre Dame. That ended Dominican's season with a 17-16 overall record.
In Friday's game, Whitman was led by senior captains Ben Fuller, Rob Bell and Kevin Justice, who combined for 35 Missionary points. Fuller and Bell each scored a 12 points with Justice adding 11. Fuller also had five rebounds and three steals.
Missionary sophomore Jake Pounds made both Missionary buckets from beyond the 3-point arc for six points (and two rebounds) in 14 minutes off the bench.
Whitman starter Mark Bouma did not play in the matchup.
The Missionaries play at Bethany College in Scotts Valley, Calif., Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
In its final tune-up before the Northwest Conference regular season, the Whitman College men's basketball team defeated Bethany College, 81-76, Saturday afternoon in Scotts Valley, Calif. The win boosts the Missionaries overall record to 4-6.
Bethany is a member of the California Pacific Conference in the NAIA Div. II. The home team's record was unavailable.
Whitman coach Skip Molitor was pleased with the game's result. "We beat a very athletic team out there today," Molitor said. "Bethany had some dunks that looked really good, and they took a late lead."
After a rusty outing the night before, Whitman played well at Bethany, forcing 23 turnovers in wreaking havoc with much of the opposition's offensive strategy. "We really forced the issue out there tonight," Molitor said.
Whitman led 47-36 heading into intermission, but Bethany took a 73-71 lead late in the game before Missionary Kevin Justice tied it with a bucket and Rich Harris sealed the victory, hitting five straight free throws down the stretch.
Justice finished the game a blistering ten-of-13 from the field, good enough for 22 points in 31 minutes of action.
Harris, who made his fourth start of the season, did all his damage from the charity stripe on seven-of-eight shooting at the line.
Senior Ben Fuller scored 15 points on five-of-12 shooting from the field, including three-of-five from long range. He led the team with seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and a blocked shot.
Backcourt mate Scott Erickson added a strong offensive night, knocking down five of his seven shots from the field, scoring 14 points with three assists and three steals.
The Missionaries were 28-of-56 from the field on the afternoon, exactly 50 percent, including seven-of-15 from beyond the three-point arc.
Whitman opens the bulk of its Northwest Conference schedule this coming weekend, Jan. 4 and 5 on the road. The Missionaries play Willamette in Salem on Friday night, then travel to Portland to take on a nationally ranked Lewis & Clark squad on Saturday night.
A career night by Whitman's Ben Fuller wasn't enough to keep Willamette from winning its eighth straight men's basketball game Friday night with a 76-64 Northwest Conference triumph in Salem, Ore.
Willamette upped its record to 9-2 and 3-0 in the NWC. Whitman fell to 4-7 and 0-1.
Fuller, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, torched the Bearcats for 27 points and 16 rebounds in 34 minutes of play. He also chipped in with three assists and three steals while committing just one turnover.
Willamette responded with a balanced attack that featured four players in double figures. Marques Johnson combined 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for the victors.
Fuller, who canned nine of ten free throws, hit eight of 19 shots from the floor, including two of three attempts from the 3-point line. Fuller, who began the weekend as the top 3-point shooter in the NWC, is now 13 of 21 (61.9 percent) from long range.
Fuller the only Missionary who scored in double digits. Rich Harris and Rob Bell each had eight points, while Bryan Erlebach was good for seven points.
Willamette, which led 40-30 at halftime, outrebounded Whitman 40-34. The Bearcats also outshot the Missionaries from the floor, 49.1 percent to 41.1 percent.
Normally a starter, Whitman's Mark Bouma played just 11 minutes off the bench because of leg problems. Taking just one shot, Bouma did not score but grabbed two rebounds.
With its tall and talented starting five scoring all but nine of its points, Lewis & Clark outlasted Whitman 78-64 in men's basketball action Saturday night in Portland, Ore. The Pioneers upped their record to 8-3 and 1-1 in the Northwest Conference. Whitman is 4-8 and 0-3.
Kristofer Speier, a 6-foot-9 center, paced Lewis & Clark with 27 points and nine rebounds. Colin Oriard used his 6-foot-8 frame to grab 18 rebounds and score 15 points.
Ben Fuller led Whitman with 15 points, five steals, four assists and four rebounds. Rich Harris added 12 points, while Bryan Erlebach chipped in 11 points and four assists off the bench. Rob Bell was good for eight points and five boards.
Lewis & Clark was hot at the outset, racing away to a 36-17 lead with 7:29 left in the first half. Whitman held its hosts scoreless for the remainder of the half, trimming its deficit to 36-28 at the break.
The Pioneers pushed their lead back to 14 points early in the second. But with Fuller, Harris and Jake Pounds hitting 3-pointers, and Erlebach and Pounds cashing layins, Whitman sliced Lewis & Clark's lead to three points, 44-41, with 15 minutes remaining.
The host squad responded with another surge, pulling away to a 64-48 advantage at the 8:49 mark. With Kevin Justice scoring a pair of buckets, Whitman countered with an 8-0 run to close to within eight points with 4:17 left. After Fuller scored to cut the lead to 65-58, however, Lewis & Clark pumped its cushion back into double digits.
The Pioneers were deadly from the 3-point line, making 11 of 20 attempts. They also made a killing at the free throw line, canning 17 of 23 opportunities. Whitman went to the charity stripe just eight times, making five.
For the second consecutive night, Whitman played without a healthy Mark Bouma. The junior forward, a starter for much of the season, played just 14 minutes, snaring four rebounds but not scoring.
Whitman's three senior captains combined for 49 points and 23 rebounds to spark the Missionaries to an 83-72 victory over Pacific Lutheran in men's Northwest Conference basketball action Friday night in Sherwood Center.
Whitman raised its record to 5-8 and 1-3 in the NWC. The Lutes fell to 9-5 and 2-3 in conference play.
Ben Fuller paced the Missionaries with 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Rob Bell added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Justice, Whitman's third captain, had 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.
Mark Bouma, a Whitman junior, added a double-double off the bench, scoring 14 points to go with 10 boards and four steals.
PLU took charge early in the contest, taking leads of 14-6, 21-13 and 28-16 in the first eight minutes. Whitman countered with 11 unanswered points to pull within a point. The Missionaries caught the Lutes at 35-35 with 2:24 left and then closed out the half on a 6-2 run to lead 41-37 at the break.
Shooting 55.6 percent from the floor in the second half, Whitman retained its lead throughout the final 20 minutes. The Lutes, who twice closed to within two points early in the half, still trailed by just four points, 61-47, with 10:32 left to play.
With the game still in doubt, Bouma hit a bucket and Erlebach added Whitman's next seven points. After freshman Mike Peterson converted two free throws, Bell scored his last two hoops to stretch Whitman's lead to 76-65 with 2:45 remaining. PLU narrowed its deficit to 76-71 with 1:10 left, but Bell, Justice and Fuller clinched the win by hitting five of six free throws in the final minute.
For the game, Whitman hit 32 of 62 shots (51.6 percent) from the floor, including six of 14 3-point attempts.
Erlebach nearly gave the Missionaries a fifth player in double figures in the scoring column. He scored nine points while handing out four assists. Scott Erickson added six points and five assists.
Squandering a 40-27 halftime lead, the Whitman men's basketball team lost an 85-74 Northwest Conference heartbreaker to Puget Sound Saturday night in Sherwood Center. In front for nearly all of the opening 30 minutes of play, the Missionaries came unglued as the Loggers used an 18-2 run to turn a 58-54 deficit into a 72-60 lead with six minutes left to play.
Whitman, which saw its record fall to 1-4 in the NWC and 5-9 overall, scrambled back to within 76-72 with two minutes remaining. That was as close as the Missionaries would come, however, as Puget Sound evened its NWC record at 2-2 and raised its season mark to 6-7 overall.
Whitman dominated at both ends of the court in the first half, shooting 53 percent from the floor while outrebounding the Loggers 25-12. Puget Sound made just nine of 29 shots in the first frame.
Matt Glynn scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half to spearhead Puget Sound's comeback victory. Teammate Aubrey Shelton added 24 points and nine rebounds in a two-pronged attack.
For the second consecutive night, Whitman's Rob Bell combined 16 points with 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-8 senior, who hit seven of 10 shots from the floor, moved past the 600-point mark in his Missionary career. Bell has now accumulated 613 points and 355 rebounds.
Bell wasn't the only Missionary to post a double-double against the Loggers. Sophomore guard Bryan Erlebach finished the night with 11 assists and 10 points. He also had six rebounds and a steal.
Others scoring in double figures for the Missionaries were Scott Erickson with 13 points and Ben Fuller with 12. Fuller, who played just 16 minutes due to foul trouble, also grabbed five rebounds. Erickson connected on four 3-pointers, two in each half. Rich Harris added eight points for Whitman, while Mark Bouma snared the same number of rebounds.
The Missionaries mustered just 12 of 36 second-half shots into buckets. Those numbers included a three-of-17 shooting performance from 3-point line.
The Missionaries host Whitworth College of Spokane in a midweek Northwest Conference contest Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. in Sherwood Center.
With Bryan Depew combining 18 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season, Whitworth diffused a late-game Whitman rally for a 64-53 Northwest Conference victory Tuesday night in Sherwood Center.
The Pirates improved to 11-4 on the season and 4-2 in conference action. Whitman slipped to 5-10 and 1-5.
A back-and-forth first half ended when Chase Williams hit a 3-pointer for a 28-24 Whitworth lead at the break. In front 40-35 seven minutes into the second half, the Pirates reeled off eight unanswered points to take control.
Trailing 50-37 with 6:38 remaining, Whitman pieced together a 14-3 run to close to within 53-51 with just under three minutes left. But Williams hit a free throw at the 2:16 mark and the Missionaries committed a pair of turnovers on their next two possessions. Gunner Olsen's 3-point play and a basket by Depew sealed the victory.
Olsen added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Pirates. Eric Avery contributed eight points and seven assists. Williams finished with eight points, while Kyle Jensen had seven.
Rob Bell paced Whitman with 13 points and four rebounds. Mark Bouma had 10 points and six boards. Hampered by foul trouble, Ben Fuller accounted for nine points, seven rebounds and three assists. Kevin Justice and Scott Erickson scored eight points apiece.
Whitman outrebounded the Pirates 35-30, but the Missionaries were also guilty of 14 turnovers, eight more than Whitworth.
Ben Fuller and the Whitman men's basketball team outlasted a determined effort by Pacific in posting an 82-72 victory in Northwest Conference action Friday night in Sherwood Center.
The win bumped the Missionaries season record to 6-10 overall, 2-5 in the conference. Pacific dropped a game below .500 in the league to 3-4, 7-7 overall.
Fuller poured in a season-high 30 points on the night, shooting 11-of-19 from field, while adding nine rebounds and three steals in 35 minutes. The senior forward managed an alley-oop dunk off a Bryan Erlebach lob pass, and a pair of oop-dee-oop lay-ins from the sophomore guard, as well.
But in a game the Boxers led by as many as ten in the opening period, Nick Parker -- not Fuller -- may have hit the biggest shot of the night. Down by five after Nick Kelsey three-pointer, Parker nailed a half-court shot as the first half expired. The hoop sent the crowd into a frenzy and closed the Missionary gap to only two points, as the Boxers took the halftime difference, 30-28, into the locker room.
Pacific opened the game with guns blazing, canning five quick baskets on the way to an 11-2 lead. After both teams hit a dry spell of over seven minutes in which no points were scored, the Missionaries went on a run of their own, eventually taking a short-lived lead during a 14-3 run.
The Missionaries picked up where they left off in the second half, opening with an 8-3 run that produced 36-33 lead. Pacific's Dan Bailey put the Boxers ahead 39-38 with 15:20 to play, and after Whitman re-gained the lead, Pacific's Nick Kelsey tied the score at 52-all with nine minutes to play.
Whitman's Kevin Justice gave the Missionaries the lead for good when he connected on a reverse lay-in and then nailed a three-point play on Whitman's next possession.
Justice and Rob Bell both had big offensive nights. KJ managed a double-double, adding ten rebounds to the 19 points he scored while canning eight of 11 shots from the floor. Bell added 13 points on six-of-eight shooting, chipping in seven boards and two blocked shots.
Erlebach finished with 11 assists, a career high, and generally hassled the Boxer offense, causing numerous turnovers on his way to collecting five steals. The sophomore guard had his fair share of floor time, too, playing all but three minutes in the game.
The Boxers had five players in double-digit scoring, led by Erin Gram's 15 points and eight assists.
While the Missionaries remained busy scoring, shooting over 60 percent from the floor on the evening, the Boxers had a rough go of it, converting just 28-of-71 attempts, or just under 40 percent. Those numbers included an 11-of-38 performance from three-point range for the visiting team.
The Missionaries finish out a five-game homestand Saturday night when Whitman hosts conference rival George Fox University in an 8 p.m. contest in Sherwood Center. Pacific travels to Whitworth College Saturday night.
The Whitman men's basketball team was too much for George Fox Saturday night as the Missionaries rolled to an 88-67 Northwest Conference victory in Sherwood Center.
Winning its second consecutive game, Whitman improved to 3-5 in the NWC, 7-10 overall. It was the eighth straight conference loss for the Bruins, who are now 3-13 overall.
The Missionaries had four players scoring in double figures, with Mark Bouma's 19 points leading the way. Bouma, who made 10 of 12 free throw shots, added nine rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes.
Scott Erickson found his long-range shooting touch, nailing five of nine 3-point attempts in scoring a season-high 18 points. Rob Bell collected his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Ben Fuller finished with 12 points for the Missionaries, while Kevin Justice led all players with 14 rebounds, while chipping in nine points.
After the two teams traded a pair of baskets to open the game, Erickson put Whitman up for good on a three-point basket less than three minutes into regulation. The Missionaries opened the game on a 19-6 run and were never seriously threatened after that. Whitman led 35-22 at the break, thanks Bell's 10 points and nine rebounds from Justice.
In the final 20 minutes, the Bruins got as close as eight, at 43-35, with 14:18 left to play. Whitman scored the next six points, however, and led by at least 10 points the rest of the way.
Whitman held the Bruins to just 33.3 percent shooting from the field. That included a paltry seven-of-42 performance from three-point range.
Whitman freshman Mike Peterson iced the victory, converting six of eight free throws down the stretch.
The Missionaries played without the services of two explosive guards in Bryan Erlebach and Rich Harris. Harris has missed a number of games due to an irregular heart condition. Erlebach took the night off after straining his a knee ligament in Friday night's victory over Pacific.
The Missionaries travel to Tacoma next weekend. Whitman plays at Puget Sound Friday night and at Pacific Lutheran on Saturday night.
Despite six three-pointers from junior point guard Scott Erickson, the Whitman College men’s basketball team was outscored by Puget Sound, 96-81, in Northwest Conference basketball action Friday night at the Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma.
The loss dropped the Missionaries to 7-11 overall, and 3-6 in the conference. The Loggers improved to 4-4 in the conference, 8-9 overall.
Erickson poured in 24 points on eight-of-14 shooting from the floor, including six-of-ten from three-point land. The transfer from Big Bend Community College played all but five minutes, adding a blocked shot and a steal to his best conference outing of the season.
Erickson was joined by Ben Fuller, Kevin Justice and Rob Bell in double digits of the scoring column, but it was not enough, as the Missionaries turned the ball over 21 times – 13 more than the Loggers.
Fuller finished with 19 points, four assists and two steals. Bell added a double-double, with 15 points and 12 rebounds, as well as two blocked shots. Justice managed ten points, six assists and five boards in 31 minutes.
Whitman jumped to a 9-2 advantage in the opening minutes, and led for much of the first period before the Loggers regained control with 7:58 remaining in the period. Brason Alexander drained a three-pointer to stake the Loggers to a 28-25 lead as the home team would never trail again.
Puget Sound led 44-37 at the half, while the margin jumped to as many as 20 points late in the final period. Though the Missionaries out-shot the Loggers (28-of-56 to 34-of-71), it was the turnovers that doomed Whitman.
Matt Glynn and Aubrey Shelton paced the Loggers in the scoring column. Glynn went off for 26 points and five assists, while Shelton knocked down nine shots from the floor, on the way to 21 points and eight rebounds. The pair was joined by Alexander’s 17 points and Matt Scarlett’s 12.
Whitman takes on Pacific Lutheran Saturday night at 8 p.m. in more Northwest Conference action in Tacoma.
Leading from start to finish, the Whitman men's basketball team rolled to a 72-61 Northwest Conference victory over Pacific Lutheran Saturday night in Tacoma.
The Missionaries, who also handed the Lutes an 11-point loss earlier this month in Walla Walla, raised their record to 4-6 in conference play and 8-11 overall. Pacific Lutheran slipped to 3-6 and 10-8.
Kevin Justice triggered the Whitman offense, hitting 11 of 13 shots from the floor for a game-high 24 points. Justice also had four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Ben Fuller enjoyed his second double-double of the season, scoring 17 points while snaring 10 rebounds and handing out six assists. Fuller made five of his 10 shots from the floor, including two of four attempts from 3-point range.
Scott Erickson struck four times from the 3-point arc, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Rob Bell added nine points, while Bryan Erlebach was good for six assists, five points and three steals.
As a team, the Missionaries made 27 of 48 shots from the floor, or 56.3 percent. The Lutes hit just 22 of 58 shots, or 37.9 percent.
With Fuller scoring 10 of Whitman's first 12 points, the Missionaries raced in front 20-4 over the game's first eight minutes. PLU fought its way back, closing to 36-29 at intermission.
Whitman's lead floated between six and 11 points through the first 10 minutes of the second half. After two free throws by Fuller and a Mark Bouma layin gave the Missionaries a 60-46 cushion with 6:23 left, the Lutes failed to mount a serious challenge the rest of the way. Bell hit a layin with 1:10 remaining to push Whitman's lead to 17 points, its largest of the night.
Unable to overcome one of its worst shooting performances of the season, the Whitman men's basketball team dropped a Northwest Conference game to Lewis & Clark, 77-64, Friday night in Sherwood Center.
The loss dropped the Missionaries season record to 8-12, 4-7 in the conference. Lewis & Clark remained in the hunt for the league title, improving to 15-4 overall, 9-2 in the conference.
Playing some of its finest defense of the season, Whitman harassed the Pioneers into 14 turnovers, five more than Whitman. But the Missionaries could not muster any kind of offensive attack, shooting just .448 from the field on the night, including six-of-29 from long range. Whitman wasn't much better from the free-throw line, converting only half its shots from the charity stripe, in going six-of-12 on its free-throws.
Lewis & Clark shot one basket under 50 percent from the field, making 27-of-55 shots from the floor. The Pioneers were led by John Mietus, who managed a game-high 24 points, including four-of-six from three-point land.
Mietus was joined by a trio of Pioneers in double figures. Colin Oriard hooped in 16 points, Jeff Auxier added 14, and Scott Davis added 12 in just 23 minutes of action.
For Whitman, Ben Fuller led the team with 16 points and 11 rebounds, his third double-double of the conference season. Kevin Justice was five-of-six from the floor for 11 points, while Rob Bell and Mark Bouma chipped in nine apiece.
Scott Erickson scored 11 Missionary points, doing most of his damage from long range in canning three 3-point hoops.
Fuller staked the Missionaries to a three-point lead to open the ballgame, but the tides would quickly turn, as the Pioneers went on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes, overtaking Whitman for good with a 9-2 lead and 16:17 remaining in the opening period.
The Pioneers would go on runs of 8-0 and 8-2 later in the period, before Whitman closed the gap to 33-28 on an Erickson three with 25 ticks left in the frame.
Lewis & Clark scored the first five points of the second half, before Whitman went on a 9-2 run, cutting the Pioneer lead to as little as three points, with 13:33 left to play in regulation.
At that point, Whitman was down 37-40, but the Pioneers rattled off the next seven points, and 11 of the next 13, to take a commanding 54-41 lead with just over ten minutes to play.
Whitman never got within ten the rest of the way.
For the game, the taller Pioneers out-rebounded Whitman 42-30, including 13 on the offensive end, seven more than the Missionaries.
Whitman takes on Willamette Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Sherwood Center. The Bearcats entered Friday's contest in Spokane at Whitworth in sole possession of first-place in the Northwest Conference. Lewis & Clark travels to Spokane Saturday night to take on the Pirates of Whitworth.
Willamette's Brian Newton nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to break a late Whitman rally and spark the Bearcats to a 68-61 Northwest Conference victory Saturday night in Sherwood Center.
The victory keeps Willamette in first place in the conference with a 10-2 record. Winning their fifth straight, the Bearcats improved to 16-5 on the season, while the Missionaries fell to 4-8 in the NWC and 8-13 overall.
Whitman led by as many as eight points midway through the first half, but Willamette pulled even at 24-24 and inched in front 30-26 at intermission.
The Bearcats opened the second half on a 13-0 run to building a 17-point lead with 13:36 left to play. But with Scott Erickson and Ben Fuller combining to hit five 3-pointers in less than three minutes, the Missionaries shot their way back into the contest.
After Fuller converted three of four free throws, Bryan Erlebach added two more Whitman hoops -- one of them a trey -- to close the gap to 51-49 with 5:52 remaining. That's when Willamette's Newton found the range on two 3-pointers to put the Bearcats back in control.
The Missionaries made one final push inside the final minute when Erickson, who led all scorers with 21 points, struck again from long range and Kevin Justice tipped home a rebound bucket. But with Willamette leading 62-58, Ryan Hepp scored off the fastbreak to give the Bearcats a six-point cushion with 35 seconds left.
Willamette's Kalen Canaday and Miles Sandgathe swished four free throws in the closing seconds, offsetting Erlebach's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Fuller added 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals for Whitman. Erlebach had 14 points for the Missionaries.
Erickson was five of 11 from beyond the arc, upping his conference-leading total to 53 on the season. The junior guard has connected on 23 3-pointers in last five games.
Whitman's Mark Bouma, who chipped in six points by making three of four shots from the floor, snared seven rebounds and four steals.
With Erickson scoring the first seven Missionary points, the home team jumped in front 7-2 and 17-9 to start the game.
Unable to withstand a wild night from a pair of Whitworth 3-point shooters, the Whitman men's basketball team dropped a Northwest Conference hoops game to the Pirates, 102-68, Tuesday night in Spokane.
The win improves Whitworth's record to 16-6 overall and 9-4 in the conference, while the Missionaries now stand at 8-14 overall, 4-9 in the NWC.
Whitworth shot over 50 percent from the floor on the night, which included a sizzling 13 of 26 performance from the 3-point line. Eleven of those thirteen treys came from two players, Kyle Jensen and Travis Meserve.
Both players finished with career highs in points. Jensen hit five of nine shots from behind the arc en route to a game-high 29 points. Meserve, a Pirate reserve, was perfect off the bench, connecting on all six of his 3-point attempts on the way to 23 points.
The Pirates led 54-35 at the half and continued to build the lead in the final 20 minutes of action.
Kevin Justice's 14 points and eight rebounds led Whitman. Rob Bell added 12 points and six boards, while Ben Fuller chipped in 10 points.
Mark Bouma added seven Missionary boards, six points and four assists. Bryan Erlebach and Jacob Pounds each scored eight points for Whitman.
Whitman concludes the home portion of its season schedule this Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Sherwood Center. The game is the final opportunity for fans to cheer Missionary seniors Kevin Justice, Rob Bell and Ben Fuller.
Using an unprecedented 32-point run in the first half, the Whitman men's basketball team stormed past Linfield 91-77 in Northwest Conference action Saturday night in Sherwood Center.
The win boosted Whitman's record to 9-14 on the season and 5-9 in conference. It was the second loss in as many nights for Linfield, now 14-9 overall and 9-5 in the NWC. The loss lessened Linfield's chances for the postseason, dropping the Wildcats one full game behind Whitworth in the conference standings for third place.
With Linfield leading 6-4 early in the game, Whitman reeled off 32 unanswered points over the next nine minutes. Guards Ben Fuller and Scott Erickson combined for 26 points during the spurt, which saw Whitman hit 12 of 16 shots from the floor. Erickson canned a pair of 3-pointers during the run while Fuller was making six of six free throws. Linfield's dry spell included 15 missed shots from the floor and six turnovers.
Linfield's Jeff Dunn broke the spell with 9:21 left in the first half, hitting a lay-in to leave the Wildcats on the short end of a 36-8 count.
Whitman eventually took a 51-31 lead in the halftime break. At that point, Fuller and Erickson by themselves had outscored the Wildcats 33-31.
Erickson, the NWC's leading 3-point shooter, finished his night with six hoops from beyond the arc while scoring a career-high 32 points. Fuller, who added 29 points and three steals, was 11 of 12 from the free throw line.
Linfield recovered in the second half to make the game somewhat interesting. With 5:45 left to play, Walla Walla native Pat McConn connected on a pair of free throws to get his Wildcats within nine points at 71-62.
Whitman's Rob Bell added his fifth double-double of the season in his final home game as a Missionary. The senior center scored 12 points and hammered the backboards for 11 rebounds.
Whitman's sophomore point guard, Bryan Erlebach, dished out 10 assists in 37 minutes. Senior Kevin Justice grabbed 11 rebounds while junior Mark Bouma contributed six rebounds, four points and two steals.
Whitman collected 41 rebounds in the game, one more than Linfield. The Wildcats turned the ball over 14 times, one more time than the Missionaries.
Whitman shot 63 percent from the floor in the first half and finished the night at 51.7 percent (31 of 60). Whitman enjoyed a healthy advantage at the free throw line, making 22 of 25 attempts. Linfield made just seven of 16 of its attempts from the charity stripe.
O.J. Gulley, Linfield's all-conference guard, was held to just seven points -- 13 points below his season average -- on three-of-ten shooting from the floor.
Whitman ends the season on the road next weekend. The Missionaries travel to George Fox Friday night, then Pacific on Saturday.
With five players scoring in double figures, the Whitman men's basketball team shot 61 percent from the floor and rolled to an 82-60 Northwest Conference victory at George Fox Friday night in Newberg, Ore.
The Missionaries, in sweeping the season series from the Bruins, improved to 10-14 overall and 6-9 in NWC play. George Fox remained winless in conference, falling to 0-15 and 3-21 on the season.
Hitting eight of his 14 shots from the floor, senior guard Ben Fuller scored a game-high 17 points and snared seven rebounds to pace Whitman. Mark Bouma was five of seven from the floor, scoring 13 points off the Missionary bench. Rob Bell and Bryan Erlebach added 12 points apiece, combining to make nine of their 12 shots. Scott Erickson chipped in with 10 points, nailing a pair of 3-pointers to push his NWC-leading total to 62 treys on the season.
Kevin Justice nearly gave Whitman a sixth player in double figures. He scored eight points, making four of seven shots from the field, while grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds and handing out four assists.
The Missionaries were credited with 24 assists on their 34 baskets. Erlebach, who ranks No. 2 in the NWC in assists, led the way with seven. Like Justice, Bouma had four assists.
After Travis Melvin canned a 3-pointer to open the scoring for George Fox, Whitman responded with hoops from Erlebach and Fuller to take a 4-3 lead with 17:30 left in the first half. The Missionaries led the rest of the way, taking a 41-33 lead into intermission. Whitman then opened the second half on a 17-6 run to break the game open.
Whitman ends its season at 8p.m. Saturday at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. With a victory, the Missionaries could pull themselves into a tie for fifth place in the final NWC standings.
Pacific hit ten 3-pointers in the first half to build a big lead and race away to a 100-82 season-ending victory over the Whitman men's basketball team Saturday night in Forest Grove, Ore.
The game left both teams with 6-10 Northwest Conference records. The Missionaries finished 10-15 overall, while the Boxers wrapped up an 11-13 season.
Down 42-23 at intermission, Whitman shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half and closed to within 10 points, 70-60, with 8:46 remaining. Pacific countered with two 3-pointers, however, to turn back Whitman's rally.
In his final game as a Missionary, senior guard Ben Fuller scored a game-high 21 points, making eight of 16 shots from the floor. Fuller also had four assists, three steals and three rebounds.
Seniors Rob Bell and Kevin Justice also had solid final games. Bell combined 13 points with seven rebounds, while Justice had eight points and eight boards.
Scott Erickson drilled four 3-pointers for Whitman to finish with 12 points and four assists. Jake Pounds struck three times from long range, coming off the bench to score 11 points and grab five boards. Mark Bouma added nine points, while Bryan Erlebach chipped in with eight points and four assists.
Whitman outrebounded the Boxers 39-31 but were unable to compensate for Pacific's shooting from the 3-point line (13-29) and charity stripe (25-30).