WALLA WALLA, Wash.  Host Walla Walla University may be the Wolves by nickname and mascot, but Wednesday night it was Whitman's No. 1-ranked Blues that brought the pack mentality.

Forcing turnover upon turnover, Whitman rolled to a 116-78 win in non-conference men's basketball action at WWU's Windemuth Court.

The opening three minutes set the tone for the rest of the evening as the Blues (3-0) raced out to a 15-0 lead using such pressure defense that the Wolves (4-4) weren't able to register their first shot of the game until 2:30 into the opening half.

During those 150 seconds Whitman accrued seven steals that resulted in six of its first seven buckets coming via the high-percentage layup variety.

The game plan for head coach Eric Bridgeland's squads has always been to generate offense from its defense. No contest will ever be perfect in that regard, but Wednesday's was within shouting distance.

By the time the night was over the Blues had forced 32 turnovers and had the local authorities on alert after coming away with 22 steals -- including seven each from Austin Butler and Joey Hewitt.

The point total Whitman generated off just those turnovers, 51, would have kept them in the game without any offensive game planning.

Another part of the defensive equation is the work on the glass, and this, too, leaned heavily in the Blues' favor. More spectacular than the 49-30 rebounding edge were the measly six offensive rebounds the Blues allowed the Wolves.

Second-chance points for WWU? Eight.

Double that, and more, for Whitman, which came down with 23 offensive rebounds and managed 22 points from those second-chance efforts.

Butler notched a game-best nine rebounds, but of Joey Hewitt's seven on the night he collected six of them off the defensive rim to equal the total the Wolves peeled off their offensive glass.

Hewitt torched Walla Walla to the tune of 27 points, picking up his second 20+ game of the season, two-thirds of the total number of games last season (6) in which he surpassed that standard. He was 11-of-17 from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 from the foul line.

Ben Beatie chimed in with 20 points, more than any of the Wolves, while three others -- Tim Howell (17 pts.), Robert Colton (15) and Darné Duckett (14) -- also reached double-digits.

Bridgeland's bench got in quite a workout Wednesday, as five non-starters each earned more than 10 minutes of court time. Of that group, Beatie's 20 points in 14 minutes of game-time stood out above starter Hewitt's literal point-a-minute pace with which he finished.

Wednesday's victory finishes off the early non-conference portion of the schedule for Whitman, which begins Northwest Conference play with it's next games – December 1 at Pacific Lutheran University, and December 2 at University of Puget Sound.

The Blues then return home to begin a six-game non-conference string, beginning with a December 8 visit from Colorado College to the Sherwood Athletic Center, and culminating with a pair of games in late December at the nationally renowned D3hoops Classic.