WALLA WALLA, Wash.  Few teams at any level run the way that Whitman runs. Fewer still in the history of the Northwest Conference, born at the beginning of the 20th century, have made a regular-season run like the one the Blues finished at the Sherwood Center on Saturday.

This made the on-court scene after Whitman beat George Fox 109-95 to complete a perfect regular season all the more gratifying.

One by one, the Blues climbed the steps of a ladder positioned under the basket at the west end of the gym to cut pieces away from the net.

A program with a style combining balletic grace with pugilistic intensity -- never quite hurried but always restless, always relentless -- took its time.

One by patient one, they climbed the ladder… slowly.

"We play super-fast," said junior Tim Howell. "But with that moment, you've gotta savor."

"You've gotta stop and smell the roses," added head coach Eric Bridgeland. "This isn't an exhale. It's closure. Then it will be time to focus on the playoffs."

With the win, Whitman (25-0, 16-0 in NWC) became the first NWC men's team in at least 83 years to navigate a regular season undefeated, the first -- ever -- to do it as an NCAA institution, and the first to finish conference play undefeated since Whitworth (which lost two nonconference games) did so in 2009-10.

Whitman's 109 points on Saturday were the most it has scored in a game this season, and formed a fitting bookend with the 108 scored in the Blues' season opener.

The Bruins (10-15, 8-8) will be back in Sherwood at 7 p.m. on Thursday night to face Whitman in an NWC tournament semifinal.

So by the time players -- one wearing the purloined net around his neck, others with strands of the net tucked behind their ears, several with more than a few tears flowing -- emerged from the locker room, it seemed that the moment was already passing.

"We're aspiring to a national title," said Howell, who had 19 points Saturday and repeated as conference scoring champion. "This part of the season is over. That's phase one. The playoffs are phase two. We need to come back with some fire. We've got more work to do."

"To play as hard as we played every single game, tonight was great," said junior JoJo Wiggins, who had eight points and seven rebounds. "All of that means nothing now. We want to win the conference tournament."

"This was validation for all the hard work," said junior Jase Harrison, who dropped a career-high 30 points. "You could tell we were having fun. We played with excitement. Now it is time for a whole other level of excitement, a whole other level of focus."

The Bruins put Whitman through its paces, and the Blues didn't crack things open until midway through the second half. Howell scored first, Joey Hewitt last and Harrison had six unanswered points in the middle of a 10-0 Blues run which turned a two-point lead into a 12-point one with 7:10 to play.

Whitman's lead would not dip below double-digits again, providing a stress-free landing on a night when the visitors made 14 3-pointers, led numerous times in the first half and hung within a bucket or two for a big chunk of second half.

"They're so good," Bridgeland said of the Bruins. "They're peaking at the right time. We've got so much respect for them."

Hewitt had 28 points and three steals for the winners. Harrison added five rebounds and three steals. Jack Stewart had 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Austin Butler chipped in seven points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

Whitman out-rebounded George Fox 58-37 and shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half.

Saturday marked the sixth time in 13 home games that the Blues' eclipsed 100 points in scoring.

All prelude.

"Our ultimate goal is to win a national championship," Harrison said. "We will keep the same, one-game mindset."

"I feel like I just got an appetizer at a restaurant. The appetizer tastes great," Wiggins added. "But I'm still kind of hungry."