WALLA WALLA, Wash.  The Whitman men's basketball team does not subscribe to the view, en vogue among many observers both local and national, that the Northwest Conference is a two-horse race.

The Blues know to a man that, as Whitman head coach Eric Bridgeland put it, "Any team in this conference can and will beat us if we don't have our stuff."

Linfield personified that truth at Sherwood Center on Friday evening. The Wildcats pushed the undefeated, second-ranked Blues deep into the second half before a variety of suspects, usual and not-so-usual, helped Whitman pull out a 90-81 victory.

"Every game in conference is gonna be a grind," Blues junior point guard Tim Howell said. "We play a one-game schedule. We take it one team at a time; keep moving forward, keep trying to get better every game."

"Linfield is really good. They are extremely well-coached," added Bridgeland. "Shanan Rosenberg is in his fourth year and this is his team. They are significantly better than they were last year. They played a great matchup defense, they have quick guards and they have great rebounding. They played their butts off."

Which forced Whitman (12-0, 3-0 in NWC) to dig deep and respond. It did, over the final 10 minutes, against a Linfield squad that played like a contender despite its 6-6 record and six-year hiatus from conference tournament play.

The Blues trailed several times in the second half and faced their largest post-halftime deficit with 12:42 to play, when Mason Rodby's layin gave Linfield a 58-55 lead.

Although Whitman ultimately forced 20 turnovers, its full-court pressure was not reaping what is typically its most lucrative dividend -- the forcing of out-of-system shots in halfcourt scenarios -- and the Wildcats were taking and making good looks.

The spark for the deciding run was provided by first-year guard Jaron Kirkley. After Whitman forced a 10-second violation in the backcourt, Kirkley was the recipient of a kick-out pass from Jase Harrison. All alone on the left wing, he measured and buried a 3-pointer.

"I knew that was down," Howell said. "I was super proud of him for stepping up in a big moment like that."

Kirkley, averaging 3.3 points per game in just over 11 minutes, gave the Blues a 62-59 lead with his cold-blooded jumper at the 10:11 mark. It was Whitman's first field goal in over four minutes.

Cedric Jacobs-Jones, who scored 12 of his 14 points after halftime, ripped down an offensive rebound and scored to answer a Linfield basket, making it 64-61. Howell made two free throws, Kyle Maloof answered with a basket for Linfield.

"This was a tough one," Howell said.

Jacobs-Jones made two free throws for a 68-63 lead. Whitman dug in and got a huge stop when Austin Butler blocked a shot and the rebound landed on the shooter, lying prone out of bounds. Jacob-Jones' 3-pointer on the next Whitman trip made it 71-63, and after Butler corralled a deflected 3-point attempt by teammate Joey Hewitt and scooped in a layup, the Blues led by 10.

Butler's dime to Howell answered a Linfield basket, and a Harrison steal led to a Butler transition basket -- and 12 points of breathing room for a nervous gymnasium.

Howell had four of his five field goals inside the last 6:23. His floater to beat the shot clock -- after Hewitt emerged from a scrum of three Linfield players for an offensive rebound -- was essentially the dagger with 3:03 to play. It gave Whitman an 82-70 lead.

Harrison had 15 of his team-high 20 points in the first half – "He kind of carried us for a while," said Bridgeland – while shooting 6 of 9 from the floor, ripping four steals and dishing three assists. Jojo Wiggins added 10 points and six rebounds, and Butler had nine points, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

"We can lose to anybody in this conference," Bridgeland said. "You've got to go out and earn everything. All you can do is have a great effort, one game at a time."

The one-game schedule continues at 6 p.m. Saturday against Pacific University, which stunned fifth-ranked Whitworth University 90-88 on Friday in Spokane.