WALLA WALLA, Wash.  All victories count the same, but home wins and road wins have distinctly different vibes.

Take it from Joey Hewitt, sophomore guard on one of the two remaining undefeated Division III basketball teams in America.

"Home wins are about protecting your court and showing dominance," said Hewitt, after his Blues did both in dissecting the University of Puget Sound 90-70 in a Northwest Conference game on Saturday at Sherwood Center. "A win on the road, you feel like you're taking it with you. You're stealing it."

Perhaps it bodes well for the second-ranked Blues, who improved to 10-0 at home after sweeping a six-game homestand, that they are an unabashedly larcenous bunch. Only five teams in the nation average more steals per game than Whitman, which plays seven of its next eight games on the road.

Time to thief up.

"This win gives us a bunch of confidence," Hewitt said. "We were really good in our halfcourt defense. We did a good job of limiting their post play and points in the paint. We really ran the ball tonight."

The "we" showed up in the box score, where five different players scored in double figures for Whitman (15-0, 6-0 NWC). Tim Howell, the conference's leading scorer, had 20 points, three steals, four assists and four rebounds. Cedric Jacobs-Jones added 17 points and six rebounds while hitting 4 of 7 field goals, 3 of 5 3-pointers and all six of his free throws. Austin Butler had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Jase Harrison (six rebounds, two steals) and Jack Stewart (three of team's 11 steals) knocked down 11 points each.

"At any point in time, everyone on our roster can go off," said Hewitt, who had nine points. "Anyone can make a big play, a big stop. We have eight or nine, pretty much 10 guys we can go to."

The Loggers (9-6, 2-4) hung around thanks to excellent shooting (52.9 percent), and lurked within seven points when Whitman unplugged the upset bid with a dominant 11-minute closeout. Howell had 15 points in that span. The Blues made 14 of their final 15 free throws and held UPS without a point from the 10:31 mark to the 5:55 mark of the second half.

"We fought all the way through," said Jacobs-Jones. "We never let up. We put a lot of emphasis on Saturday games. We don't want to get complacent."

"This was out last home game for a while," added Whitman head coach Eric Bridgeland. "You're used to playing an opponent on Saturday that maybe didn't get the result it wanted the night before (against Whitworth, in Spokane), and that makes for a game you have to earn. And UPS is so dangerous."

The Blues will see the Loggers again on Feb. 10 when they make their annual conference visit to Tacoma. By then, Whitman will have visited George Fox (at 8 p.m. next Friday), Lewis and Clark (6 p.m. Saturday) and dipped through Spokane for the rematch with eighth-ranked Whitworth (8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 24).

"Every team can beat us in this conference," said Bridgeland. "That's why we value the 1-game schedule."