Box Score
By Ben Zimmerman
WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- It fell short of a comeback, as Whitman was unable to overcome a disastrous first-half lull.
But it had to count as one of the better comeback-ish efforts of the Northwest Conference men's basketball season.
Still, the Missionaries' 98-95 loss to George Fox on Friday at Sherwood Center left Whitman head coach Eric Bridgeland determined to "figure out why" his squad "just didn't have it" in a crucial conference game with a chance to solidify postseason standing at stake.
"We got thoroughly outplayed," Bridgeland said. "We play a style that, when a team plays harder than us, we get embarrassed. George Fox embarrassed us tonight."
Whitman hammered the Bruins 93-69 in the foes' first encounter on Jan. 18 in Newberg, Ore., and could have tightened its hold on second place in the conference with a victory Friday. But the Missionaries fell behind huge, early, and could not get over the hump despite numerous frantic charges.
The most exhilarating Whitman push came late, as the Missionaries zapped a 91-72 deficit to four points, 93-89, led by Matt Mounier, Ben Eisenhardt and Tochi Oti.
But that rally to the 1:36 mark of the second half was as close as they'd get.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Whitman (15-7, 10-3 in league), which now trails Whitworth by two games for first place in the NWC. It enjoys a two-game cushion in the loss column over three other rivals for second place, with three conference games remaining.
Whitman fell behind 41-17 late in the first half, sliced the deficit to 10, but trailed by 15 after Spencer Bolte knocked down a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. The Missionaries feigned at comeback runs throughout the second half, but lingered at a 12- to 15-point remove for most of the proceedings.
George Fox (14-7, 7-5) shot 50 percent from the floor and made 14 of 28 3-pointers. A.J. Grant made 7 of 10 from outside the arc and led all scorers with 28 points.
For Whitman, Eisenhardt was 8 of 9 from the field and had a team-high 22 points. Oti added 18 points and had four of the Missionaries' 15 steals, Mounier had 11 points and Jackson Clough added 15 points and two steals.
"We're not result-oriented, and we've talked about having good halves," Bridgeland said. "We're not going to flush this. We're trying to win a championship."
Whitman hosts Linfield Saturday.
