WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Up and down the court they raced, Whitman College and visiting Willamette University, in Friday night's Northwest Conference men's basketball 94-foot,battle at the Sherwood Athletic Center. By the final horn the host Missionaries had withstood a strong challenge from the Bearcats, finishing off the visitors by a score of 78-70, holding the lead over the game's final 32 minutes but needing to fend off a squad that failed to wilt under Whitman's ever present defensive pressure.

The M's (13-5, 7-2 NWC) ,did come away with 17 steals and forced the Bearcats (6-12, 4-5) into 27 turnovers in a contest that caused a nice breeze along the court side seats with the pace of play.

The turning point came early with Whitman rallying from an eight-point deficit, 13-5, behind a 12-0 stretch that spanned not even 120 seconds.

Christian McDonald knocked down a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a Matt Mounier rebound off a Willamette miss. A steal and fast-break layup from Dominic Lippi erased a two-point deficit to knot things at 13-13. Lippi was fouled on his way to the hoop and sank the ensuing free throw to provide the game with the first and last lead change as Whitman's advantage, at 14-13, never faltered the rest of the way. Capping off the unanswered streak was Philip Chircu who pocketed a long-range bomb to extend the advantage to four.

The lead blossomed to 12 with under eight to play in the half but Willamette stayed true to their nickname and clawed back to within three, 34-31, in the final minute. A pair of Jackson Clough free throws with 50 ticks on the clock and another Chircu trey, this one with only seven seconds remaining, allowed Whitman to expand its lead to eight, 39-31, heading into the halftime break.

To say at times it was easy would be accurate, as the M's came out of the intermission and built their lead to 14 approaching the midpoint of the second half, and held a double-digit lead from the 10-minute mark until just under seven to play in the contest.

Another Willamette rally chipped into that margin until it had pulled within four, 74-70, with 1:45 showing on the clock.

Converted free throws down the stretch by Clough, Lippi and McDonald sealed the deal, however, as Whitman maintained its second-place spot in the league standings. The loss pushes Willamette two games behind third-place Lewis & Clark College (11-7, 6-3), which travels to Walla Walla to take on Whitman Saturday evening at 6 p.m.

Evan Martin finished Friday's win for Whitman tied with Willamette's Bridger Harlington for high-point honors, each finishing with 18 points to lead their respective teams. And both teams place several players in double-figures on the night. For the M's Clough added 16, Mounier chipped inwith 14 -- including four 3-pointers -- and McDonald finished with 11. The Bearcats saw Brendon McCullough (16 points), Brandon Luedtke (11) and Kyle McNally (10) join in the fun with double digit scoring.