WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Senior Night was good to Whitman College who collected its 20th win of the season Saturday night against George Fox University. The win also guarantees Whitman will host a first round playoff game against a, to be determined, Northwest Conference opponent. The Missionaries used sharp-shooting and solid defense to pull away from the Bruins, 97-72.
 
The crowd erupted early on in the contest when senior, Jackson Clough took the court in his short-lived season-debut. Clough has been sidelined with an injury this season, but got to take the court one last time in a Whitman uniform. "It was great (being on the court) any time you feel that support around you it's a great experience," Clough said. "I have had such a great time here at Whitman and to here that reaction from the crowd felt really good."
 
Tim Howell finished with a game-high 26 points, he also added five rebounds and three assists. Christian McDonald poured in 19 for the Whits, while Montez White and Evan Martin both reached double-digits with 10 points apiece. The seniors combined for 24 points and 9 boards along with Tochi Oti's three assists.
 
"It isn't something that was discussed in the locker room," Martin said about the team playing for home court in the first round of the playoffs. "It was just about getting this one and then seeing where it goes from there." Martin also commented on the emotions of Senior Night saying, "It was definitely special. I tried not to get too hyped up and treat it like any other game, but the emotion was definitely a little bit higher than usual."
 
Whitman opened up a 16 point lead midway through the first half as the Missionaries forced 10 Fox turnovers in nine and a half minutes, which led to 13 Whit points. Whitman started the game shooting over 61-percent from the field and the defense provided several opportunities for easy baskets on the offensive end. George Fox shot just 3-12 to open the contest and seemed completely overwhelmed by the Whit defense.
 
During the last 10 minutes of the half, Whitman's shooting cooled off some, but the Fox was unable to put a dent in the deficit. The Missionaries entered the break outscoring the Bruins 22-6 in the paint and converted 17 turnovers into 19 points. McDonald led all scorers with 12 points and Howell had 10 at the half. Seniors, Oti, Martin and Philip Chircu combined for 11 points in the half on 5-of-9 shooting.
 
The second half played out similar to the first with the exception of Fox's shooting. The Bruins did everything they could to try to climb back into the game, but Whitman was not going to have it. Not on Senior Night.
 
With 14:24 showing on the clock George Fox had narrowed the Whitman lead from 15 to eight. Howell connected on a jumper that pushed the lead back out to double-digits and Martin grabbed two rebounds and scored a bucket in a 30 second span that proved to be the final blow to the Bruins.
 
With under a minute to play in the game the four seniors and Peter French checked into the game and were greeted with a standing ovation from the electric Whitman crowd. The energy in the building would have led one to believe the game was coming down to the wire.
 
Head coach Eric Bridgeland was asked what it meant to be able to win this one, he responded saying "There is no bigger game on our schedule. To be able to send the seniors off with a win on Senior Night is awesome and it's always been that way. All night you're playing for something so much bigger, it doesn't matter who is out there you just try to find a way to win it for the seniors."