McMINNVILLE, Ore. – A powerful second half led to Whitman College's 79-56 Northwest Conference victory over host Linfield College in men's basketball action Friday evening at the Ted Wilson Gymnasium. The Missionaries nearly tripled their halftime lead over the final 20 minutes, aided by a defense that forced 25 turnovers.

Whitman (16-5, 10-2 NWC) won its sixth game in a row while Linfield (3-17, 1-10) fell back onto the losing side of the hyphen after winning its previous game.

Coming out of the halftime break with a 32-24 advantage the Missionaries slowly added to the lead before racing away from the Wildcats over the final 10 minutes. A Tochi Oti jumper pushed the lead to 41-27 barely two minutes into the half but Linfield clawed back to within six, 48-42, four minutes later.

Over the final 13 minutes, though, the M's poured in 31 points, doubling the Wildcats' 14-point effort during that span. Turnovers were Linfield's Achilles Heel as Whitman forced six over the last 9:16 of the game and held Linfield without a basket from the field over the last six minutes.

Especially compared to the final minutes, the opening half was quite competitive as Whitman had to fight back from a deficit to take its 32-24 lead into the break.

Linfield led 18-13 before a Matt Mounier 3-pointer pulled the M's to within two. A Wildcats miss put the ball back in Whitman's hands and it regained the lead, 19-16, on a Tochi Oti trey. A 6-0 run over the last 77 seconds of the half pushed the lead to eight as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

Mounier ended the night with a game-high 18 points which included a trio of 3-pointers. Twelve points from Oti, with two 3-pointers, gave Whitman two players in double figures. Also chipping in from long range was Philip Chircu who dropped in a pair from behind the arc. Chircu and Tim Howell paced the M's on the glass with four rebounds apiece.

Ryan Cali scored 13 for Linfield and added a game-high six rebounds in the loss.

Unable to handle the defensive pressure Linfield finished the game with those 25 miscues and allowed Whitman to tally 24 points off those turnovers.

The last home stand of the season looms immediately ahead for Whitman as it welcomes Pacific (Ore.) University to the Sherwood Athletics Center Friday -- the 13th -- at 8 p.m. followed by a 6 p.m. Saturday match-up with visiting George Fox University on Senior Night for the M's.