Box Score
TACOMA, Wash. – A barrage of long-range 3-pointers in the opening half helped lift visiting Whitman College to an 85-73 victory over the University of Puget Sound in Northwest Conference men's basketball action Friday evening in Memorial Fieldhouse. The Missionaries, with six players reaching double-figures on the night, were 10-of-15 from beyond the arc during the game's initial 20 minutes.

Whitman (19-5, 13-2 NWC) never trailed in the contest, allowing the Loggers (12-11, 7-8) to draw even only once, at 2-2, before bursting out to a 52-33 advantage heading into the halftime break.

Puget Sound, desperate and clinging to a fourth-place tie in the league standings for the final spot into the conference postseason tournament, hung with the M's in the early moments but weren't able to keep up with Whitman's deadly marksmanship behind the 3-point line as the first half wore on.

The hosts did pull within six, 22-16, on an Erin Barber layup but Whitman responded with an 8-0 run that took only 52 seconds to quell the upset bid.

Philip Chircu dropped in a trey following Barber's layup and then Dominic Lippi came up with a steal and layup to keep the streak rolling. Chircu ripped down a defensive rebound on the Loggers' ensuing possession and Lippi finished off the transition down court with a 3-pointer to alter the game for good.

By the time the teams entered the halftime locker rooms Whitman had dropped in 3's at a rate of 67 percent. Puget Sound, despite hitting 52 percent from the floor itself, simply couldn't keep up on the scoreboard.

The momentum from the first half carried over into the second half as Jackson Clough opened the scoring with a 3-pointer to up Whitman's lead to 22 before even a minute was gone.

Eventually the game Loggers were able to battle back, while Whitman went on a cold streak, to pull within eight at 76-68 with three minutes to play only to have the M's finally warm up in their offensive end and push the advantage back into double digits all the way to the final buzzer.

Chircu led Whitman's attack with 16 points but the offense was spread around in one of the team's most balanced nights. Matt Mounier added 13 points while Clough and Christian McDonald knocked down 12 apiece. Both Lippi and Evan Martin chimed in with 10 points each. Chircu, with four 3-pointers in six attempts, and Clough, who was 3-of-3 from downtown, paced the long-range offense. Mounier, McDonald and Lippi got into the act with two treys each.

The Loggers' Nick Holden did what he could to keep his team in the contest, finishing with 29 points and coming down with 12 rebounds to complete the double-double. Kohl Meyer added 16 points and Barber chipped in with 12 but only three other players scored, combining for just 16 points.

Friday's victory keeps Whitman -- currently trailing NWC-leader Whitworth University by one game -- in the hunt for the regular season title with one game to play, Saturday at 6 p.m. against host Pacific Lutheran University.