WALLA WALLA, Wash. Scoring and minutes were shared in magnanimous holiday spirit on Friday by the still-undefeated Whitman Blues.
Eleven different Whitman players made at least one basket and the Blues bench scored 51 points in one of the true egalitarian blowouts in Sherwood Center memory, a 105-57 dispatch of Crown College on Day 1 of the 2016 Comfort Inn Classic.
"That's what you want in your first game back from holiday break," Whitman head coach
Eric Bridgeland said. "Everyone plays a bunch: it's great, in terms of morale and in terms of getting back in rhythm."
The second-ranked Blues improved to 10-0 in throttling Crown, which is based in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota, and competes in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
Whitman raced to a 19-4 lead; Bridgeland substituted liberally in a game that was never competitive, and the Blues' reserves kept it that way. Starters
Joey Hewitt (18 points in 23 minutes),
Jack Stewart (14 points, 4-of-8 3-point shooting in 19 minutes) and
Tim Howell (11 points in 17 minutes) capitalized on extended cameos while
Jaron Kirkley (15 points) and
Jase Harrison (14 points on 4-of-4 shooting) led the onslaught from the bench.
Only one starter played more than 20 minutes. Eleven Blues saw at least nine minutes of action.
"It was a great team win," Bridgeland said.
Austin Butler had seven points, six steals, five assists and three blocks --Â in just 20 minutes of burn.
"Double that and he has a quadruple double," noted Bridgeland.
Butler helped set a defensive tone that lasted for the duration. Whitman's press? It was the grift that kept on grifting, prying loose 19 steals (Hewitt had five) and forcing 37 turnovers.
Robert Colton had eight points and two steals off the bench, and
Cedric Jacobs-Jones added seven points and four rebounds for the winners, who wrap up the Classic against Buena Vista at 3 p.m. Saturday at Sherwood. The Beavers hung tough with eighth-ranked
Whitworth before falling 90-80 in Friday's early game, and should give Whitman a sturdy test in its final non-league tune-up of the season.
Buena Vista head coach Brian VanHaaften is a good friend of Bridgeland's.
"I have a ton of respect for that program in terms of its spirit and culture," Bridgeland said. "They are so well-coached."
Whitman is perched atop the HERO Sports online rankings, while sitting in the No. 2 spot in the D3hoops.com poll.
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