DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.  A 17-0 run beginning at the midpoint of the first half pushed top-ranked Whitman to an eventual 80-62 non-conference victory over King's (Pa.) College Tuesday night at the Daytona Beach Shootout. Tim Howell and Jack Stewart combined for 38 of No. 1 Whitman's points, knocking down seven of the team's 10 treys.

Sitting atop the HERO Sports ranking The Blues (8-0) moved up a spot to No. 2 -- garnering nine first-place votes -- in Monday's release of the D3hoops.com poll. The loss drops the Monarchs (4-5) below the .500 mark.

The big run from The Blues followed a see-saw start to the game. That back and forth, however, swung only once each direction.

Whitman broke quickly to an 8-2 lead but the King's answered with a burst of its own to take a 13-12 lead.

It was after a Derek Wilkins jumper for the Monarchs tying the game at 19-19 with 9:58 to play in the half that Whitman got on its roll.

Stewart began the run with a trey and later capped the streak with another 3-pointer. In between The Blues got points from Austin Butler, Andrew Harvey and Jaron Kirkley.

That 36-19 advantage grew to 22 points, 50-28, at the half.

Whitman pushed its edge to 25 a couple of times in the second half and held on to a lead of at least 18 until the final minute when King's cut it to 16, only to have Ben Beatie convert a pair of free throws with 33 seconds remaining to elevate the advantage to its final margin.

Howell led all scorers with 23 points, adding in four rebounds, while Stewart finished with 15 and a pair of boards. Robert Colton led Whitman on the glass with eight rebounds, though the Monarchs did finish the night with a 48-39 edge around the rim.

Jake Barber's 11 points led King's in scoring while Connor Callejas pulled down a game-best nine rebounds for his team in the loss.

Trouble with the Whitman full-court pressure was a marked factor in the contest as The Blues forced 26 turnovers, turning those into 26 points.

The Shootout continues Thursday for Whitman as it squares off in a national-matchup against fourth-ranked Marietta (Ohio) College.