THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Whitman College men's basketball suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday night in the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Tournament. Tufts University used hot shooting to down the Whits 107-95, at the Gilbert Sports Center at Cal Lutheran. Whitman's cold start in the second half proved to be the difference as Tufts held off a late Whitman comeback to secure the win.
The Whits fell behind by 16 points early in the second half, but never stopped fighting the battle. Tufts' lead was gradually cut from 16 to 12, then to nine, and then six. A victory went from out-of-sight to within striking distance over a 10-minute span. Unfortunately, the deficit was too much to overcome as Whitman's comeback fell just short.
Whitman (9-1, 2-0 NWC) was led by guard,
Tim Howell who scored 19 points and grabbed three rebounds. Sophomore,
Christian McDonald added 18 points and six assists, while
JoJo Wiggins and
Jack Stewart combined for 30 points and seven boards on 10-14 shooting. First year,
Austin Butler shot 4-5 from the field for 11 points and narrowly missed a double-double with nine boards.
The Whits jumped out to a six-point lead just seven minutes into the game, but Tufts (7-2) stayed within striking distance, never allowing Whitman to lead by more than seven. McDonald and
Montez White connected on back-to-back jumpers with 9:26 to play in the half, giving the Whits a 27-20 advantage.
At the 4:15 mark Tufts grabbed a 41-40 lead, handing the Whits their first deficit of the game. The lead went back and forth over the final four minutes of the half with the Jumbos converting a three-point jumper with 13 seconds remaining. The shot sent Whitman into the break trailing, 49-47.
Tufts came out of the half and surged to a 16-point lead. Whitman was outscored 20-6 during the first six and a half minutes and fought an uphill battle the rest of the way. It proved to be a tough fight, but without hesitation the Whits gave it everything they had.
Stewart's steal and free throws at the ten-minute mark cut the Jumbo lead to ten. The lead saw single-digits with Wiggins and
Tochi Oti connecting on free throws and the comeback was within striking distance. With five minutes to play Howell's layup narrowed the deficit to six, but Tufts eventually found a solution. Whitman never got any closer than six, shots started rolling off the rim and desperation threes fell short toward the end.
Even after finding themselves in a hole early in the second half, the Whitties gave themselves a chance in the closing minutes; unfortunately, it just was not meant to be. Whitman finishes the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Tournament tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. in Thousand Oaks against Geneva College (0-9, 0-3 PAC).
