WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Long-range shooting, tenacious defense and an opportunistic transition game broke open Sunday afternoon's non-conference men's basketball contest at Sherwood Athletics Center where host Whitman College raced away from visiting Millsaps (Miss.) College for a 95-52 victory. Jack Stewart posted a game-high 23 points for the Whitties and was joined in the plus-20 column by teammate Christian McDonald who added 20 in just 17 minutes of court time.

Whitman -- ranked fourth in the latest HERO Sports Division III poll -- extended its season-opening win streak to improve to an 8-0 mark while the Majors drop to 1-9 with the loss.

Though the Whitties were comfortably ahead at halftime by a 39-29 count, the impetus for the eventual romp came during a four-minute stretch nearing the midway point of the second half.

Rajan Hanstad had just hit a 3-pointer for Millsaps to decrease its deficit to under 10 points, at 47-38, seconds after the clock ticked past the 15-minute mark. A miss and Majors rebound in Whitman's offensive end turned the ball back up court but an Austin Butler steal flipped possession and resulted in a trip to the free-throw line for Joey Hewitt who sank both of his attempts, lifting the margin to 11.

The next four minutes were a blur for Millsaps at it turned the ball over on eight of its next nine possessions resulting in a 19-0 run by the Whitties. The one time it did get off a shot it missed, with Whitman's quick transition game rolling into a nice 3-pointer from McDonald from the right wing. By the time the clock ticked past 10:00 the 11-point advantage had exploded into a 30-point lead for the Whitties.

By game's end the Whitties had scored 34 points off turnovers, ruled the glass with a 43-30 rebounding edge, turned 21 offensive rebounds into 25 second-chance points -- compared to zero for Millsaps on the day -- and closed with a 42 percent day (18-of-43) … from outside the 3-point arc.

Trent Markwith of Millsaps finished with a game-best eight rebounds, all in his defensive end, but nine different Whitties registered at least three boards, led by six each from Evan Martin and Philip Chircu.

Whitman welcomes University of Redlands to Sherwood on Monday for a 1 p.m. non-conference affair before the holiday break.