Box Score

By Ben Zimmerman

TACOMA -- Ah, life on the road in the Northwest Conference.

Whitman's full-court pressure made transit as treacherous as Snoqualmie Pass in February.

Meanwhile, the Missionaries maintained traction like Sherpa elders.

As a result, Whitman controlled the majority of a 71-57 victory over Pacific Lutheran University in Northwest Conference men's basketball here Friday, bagging a crucial road marker and winning for the eighth time in nine games.

"PLU is like everyone says. They're a tough out," Missionaries coach Eric Bridgeland said. "This was a game I'm sure they felt like they had to win. We came out and played hard and played together on the road in a tough environment."

Whitman (14-6, 8-2 in conference) completed a sweep of its conference series with the Lutes, matching the victory margin of a 74-60 triumph on Jan. 11 at Sherwood Center. It was buffeted by a masterful first half, where it established a fat lead and the tempo at which it thrives.

And it was carried to the finish by big shots and plays from Jackson Clough, Ben Eisenhardt, Matt Mounier and Evan Martin.

The Missionaries took the lead for good on a Martin jumper with 17:19 left in the first half.

They led just 13-9 with 15:48 to play before exploding on a 33-16 spurt to close the half.

Clough had 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting at the break, Mounier had 10 points and Eisenhardt -- still barely one week removed from gaining medical clearance to hoop -- added 12 on 6-of-8 shooting as Whitman took a breather up 46-25. It shot 18 of 32 from the floor over the first 20 minutes, and enjoyed a 21-15 rebounding edge despite pressing fanatically and non-stop.

The Lutes gestured at comeback several times in the second half, but Whitman's reprisals were crisp as a jab. When PLU trimmed the Missionaries lead to 52-38, Eisenhardt wormed inside for a bucket, Tochi Oti fed Dominic Lippi for a 3-pointer and Clough rained in another to push the lead back to 20.

When PLU (12-9, 5-7) crept back within 14, 66-52, Keenan Durham drilled a 3 and Lippi hit a free throw.

Clough scored a team-high 18 points for the winners, nailing 7 of 10 shots.

"Jackson was able to knock down some looks," Bridgeland said. "He really gave us a boost. I'm just happy for him. He had a great week of practice."

The full week also helped Eisenhardt fine-tune. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and ripped down six boards.

"We had a chance to get Ben more acclimated to what we're doing," said Bridgeland. "It was just a good week of practices for us."

Mounier checked in with 12 points and five rebounds, and Martin added nine points and seven rebounds for Whitman, which shot 48 percent (26 of 54) while holding PLU to just under 33 percent.

Martin, Eisenhardt, Durham, Oti and Clay Callahan had two steals apiece.

The Missionaries, winners of four straight, visit the University of Puget Sound at 7 p.m. Saturday.