WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman College struggled offensively on a night that they needed every point they could get. Pacific Lutheran University visited Sherwood Center Thursday night in the Semifinal game of the Northwest Conference Basketball Tournament. The Lutes escaped with a win over the ninth-ranked Missionaries 82-68. Whitman will now wait to see if they are selected to play in the NCAA Division III Tournament with an at-large bid.
 
Things were not going Whitman's (22-4, 14-2 NWC) way, balls were rolling off the rim, shots were falling half way in before rattling out and it seemed someone had a lid on the bucket for a good portion of the night. With all that the Missionaries stood proud and fought to the bitter end.
 
"Despite the frustration of not seeing the ball go through the hoop tonight, one game doesn't define a magical journey and it (this season) was a magical journey," head coach Eric Bridgeland said about his team's historic season. "We wouldn't trade a moment of the last six months for anything. We didn't have our best tonight and they made us pay for it, but that isn't going to change how we feel about each other and the experiences we've shared along the journey."
 
Tim Howell finished the game with 24 points and four rebounds, Christian McDonald and Joey Hewitt were the only other Whits in double-figures with 13 and 10 respectively. In their final home game the Whitman seniors, Evan Martin, Tochi Oti, Philip Chircu and Peter French, finished with 10 points and nine boards. Whitman out-rebounded PLU(17-9, 9-7 NWC)  46-44 and grabbed 19 offensive boards.
 
"PLU plays with grit and substance and right out of the gate they were playing harder than we were and we could never recover. They came to play, they hit us hard and early, and we couldn't hit a shot," Bridgeland continued when asked about the visiting Lutes. "They play great defense, I don't think we had a roll go in tonight, but most of that is them. It just didn't go our way tonight and that happens."
 
Whitman came out of the gates and looked rattled to start the contest. PLU established an early lead and maintained it through most of the first half. The Missionaries could not get a shot to fall their way and foul trouble hurt the Whits for most of the first 20 minutes of the contest. Every time it seemed Whitman was going to climb back into the game, the Lutes would hit a big shot to keep their distance.
 
In the closing minutes of the half, Howell finally started to find his rhythm and a big shot by Joey Hewitt helped the Missionaries close the gap some. Whitman entered the break trailing Pacific Lutheran 35-23 and shot just 30-percent from the field. Howell led all Whit players at the half with five points, while Martin and McDonald each contributed four.
 
As the second half started it seemed Whitman had regained its composure and was primed for a comeback. However, every shot the Missionaries hit, PLU continued to answer. With 14:11 showing on the clock Hewitt buried a three to get Whitman back to 10 and brought life back to the building. Pacific Lutheran answered with back-to-back baskets and regained its 14 point lead.
 
With 4:03 showing on the clock, Whitman faced a 16 point deficit and was in trouble of falling to the Lutes for a second time at home. As the final minutes of the game ticked down, PLU continued to hit big shots, frustrating the Missionaries and preserving their lead. 
 
Whitman will wait to see if they are granted an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Missionaries body of work is remarkable, but will it be enough to impress the committee. The announcement will come sometime Monday.