SALEM, Ore.  122 seconds. That's the sum total of how long host Willamette University was able to harbor realistic hopes of upsetting fifth-ranked Whitman College Friday night at Cone Field House. The Bearcats led 3-0 but eventually a pair of free throws by Tim Howell at the 17:57 mark provided the Blues a lead it wouldn't relinquish in their 80-65 Northwest Conference victory. Howell would go on to tally a game-leading 25 points for Whitman in its league opener.

The victory keeps Whitman's record unblemished at 4-0 overall and 1-0 within the conference, while Willamette drops to 1-5 and 0-2, respectively.

The final 15-point margin was an enjoyable advantage for the Blues, but they also know a night on which they weren't especially sharp will need to be improved upon with the difficult schedule that lies ahead.

Despite a 1-for-9 first half from long range Whitman still worked the court from end to end -- as if that would ever be a question -- to build a 15-point edge by the halftime break, entering the intermission ahead 41-26.

The pressure was there, the steals were there, but the finishes? A 46 percent half from the floor, and remember those 3-point numbers, was a nice figure for the Blues to take into the break, especially as they hounded Willamette to just 31 percent (11-of-35) from the floor. But it felt as if there could have been...more.

The 3-point numbers would plague Whitman throughout as it ended the night making four of 16 (25 percent), but one of those four was the hot poker that lit a fire in the second half after Willamette had whittled its deficit to just six, 57-51, with 7:13 to play.

A Howell layup on Whitman's next possession added back some cushion, but it was an Austin Butler steal followed by a Cedric Jacobs-Jones trey that shed the funk from the middle part of the second half and sparked the Blues to a blazing finish.

The Bearcats tried their best to not let Whitman get away again, sinking a pair of free throw on the ensuing possession, but after a layup by JoJo Wiggins erased the effectiveness of those charity-stripe tosses the Bearcats turned the ball over then watched Jase Harrison drain a 3 from the top right to up the advantage to 14.

After that all was right in the world as the Blues used their brand of basketball -- hounding, relentless pressure and lightning-quick transitions -- to close out the evening and set themselves up for a national showdown in their next contest.

Along with Howell's double-digit night Whitman had Jacobs-Jones (13 points), Wiggins (11) and Joey Hewitt (11) also reach double-figures.

Isaiah Taylor notched 15 points to lead Willamette in its game but losing effort.

Next up for Whitman is a home conference contest against Whitworth University, 3-0 and ranked eighth nationally in the same D3hoops.com poll that lists the Blues fifth, on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Sherwood Athletics Center.