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WALLA WALLA, WA -- With some veteran leadership sidelined due to injury, other leaders are continuing to produce for the Whitman men's basketball team, who cruised to a comfortable 77-60 win over Southwestern University (Tx.), moving to 4-3 on the season.

Matt Mounier scored early and often, tallying the first five points of the game, and went on to total a team high 20 points. The rest of the team started just as fast, jumping out to a 12-0 lead in light of 4 turnovers forced on the first five Pirates possessions, a product of the usual relentless defense of the missionaries.
           
The Pirates would find their own streak immediately following their slow start with a run of their own, bringing the score back within four, but that would be the closest they'd get.
           
Sophomore Evan Martin had another strong performance, and was a standout in the paint, grabbing nine rebounds, five of which were offensive. He was also efficient shooting tacking on 10 points of his own from the field (5-7) and two more from the line. Tochi Oti hit double digits scoring as well, contributing 12 points by the end. The Missionaries went 40.4% scoring from the field, and by halftime had a commanding 46-32 lead.
           
The large lead at half allowed once again for Whitman to go deeper into its bench, and by the end 14 players saw time on the floor.
As the pace of the game slowed in the 2nd half, perhaps the most exciting moment came late, breathing life back into the fan's in Sherwood Center. Following a steal around mid-court, first-year Sean Hays collected the dish-out pass in with nothing but open space between himself and the basket. With Pirate players in pursuit, Hays put home a contested dunk that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Southwestern moves to 3-4 on the season, while this win continues Whitman's now 4-game win streak. The Missionaries will travel to Las Vegas next for the D3Hoops.com Classic, and will be back at home January 10^th for their first conference home opener, against the University of Puget Sound Loggers.

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