Box Score

LAS VEGAS, NV -- The Whitman College Men's Basketball team kept their winning ways intact in their first game after returning from a holiday break, dispatching the University of Wisconsin Superior Yellowjackets 96-88 on Saturday night in their first game at the D3hoops.com Classic in the South Point Arena.
 
After starting the season 0-3, the Whitman men had won four straight games heading into a post-finals break. Returning to action on a national stage hosted by D3hoops.com, the Missionaries appeared to be firing on all cylinders in the early going.
 
 Juniors Matt Mounier and Dominic Lippi each dropped in three pointers to help Whitman take an early 9-1 lead with just two minutes gone in the first half. The Yellowjackets cut the lead to six on three occasions, the latest being on a layup by 7-foot center Bronson Bryne to bring the score to 18-12, nine minutes into the contest.
 
From there, the Missionaries took command. Mounier drained a three to push the lead to nine at 21-12 with 11:36 to play, and sophomore Tochi Oti gave Whitman their first double digit lead with a steal and layup at the 9:57 mark that made the margin 23-12.
 
Whitman poured it on, and the lead ballooned to 25 points on a layup by senior LuQuam Thompson with 35 seconds left in the half. Sophomore Jackson Clough picked off a steal and drew a foul with 11 seconds left, and after nailing both free throws, sent Whitman to halftime with a commanding 60-33 lead.
 
Mounier chipped in 16 points in the half, while Oti knocked in 9 of his own. Whitman owned a 21-16 rebounding advantage at the break, and also had harassed the Yellowjackets into 17 turnovers while committing just 7 of their own. The Missionaries shot 50% from the field (20-40) including 46.2% from long range (6-13), and also connected on 82.4% of their free throw attempts in the first half (14-17).
 
The tide turned in the second half, as the Yellowjackets stormed out of the locker room on a 13-2 run, to cut the lead to 62-46 just four and a half minutes into the final period.  Whitman responded with a 17-6 run of their own, fueled by three pointers from Mounier and sophomore Philip Chircu, to take a 79-52 lead with 10:26 to play.
 
UW Superior continued to chip away at the Whitman lead throughout the rest of the half, as the Missionaries went cold from the field. The Yellowjackets eventually whittled the lead down to 7 on a Caleb Burch three with 3:11 left to play. However, Mounier and Sophomore Evan Martin nailed clutch free throws around a Josh Duckworth three point bomb to keep UW Superior at bay.
 
The Yellowjackets closed to six points with 20 seconds to play on a Byrne free throw, but Mounier would knock down a final pair from the charity stripe to provide the final margin.
 
Five Missionaries scored in double figures, led by Mounier with 30 points on 7-16 shooting from the field including 5-10 from downtown and 10-11 from the free throw line. Sophomore Evan Martin continued his strong play, combining 13 points with 5 rebounds, while Oti and Duckworth contributed 11 points apiece. Chircu finished with 10 points on a perfect shooting night (3-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the charity stripe), while freshman Sean Hays made a major impact, combining 8 points with a team high 6 rebounds in just 14 minutes.
 
UW Superior also had five players in double figures, led by Zach Schradle with 18, and Jarrod Peterson with 16.
 
Whitman forced 26 turnovers while committing just 13 of their own, but the Yellowjackets won the rebounding battle 40-33. UW Superior also shot 59.6% from the floor, including blistering 66.7% in the final stanza to fuel their comeback bid. In the end, the free throw line proved to be a decisive factor, with Whitman converting  26-35 from the line for 74.3%, while UW Superior shot 17-32 (53.1%).
 
The win moves Whitman to 5-3 on the season, while UW Superior drops to 4-7. Up next, the Missionaries face their greatest test of the season thus far, taking on #1 ranked University of Wisconsin Stevens Point on Sunday night. The Pointers were also winners on Saturday, topping Whitworth University by a score of 93-75. Tipoff for the game will be at 6:00pm PST.

BOX SCORE