SALEM, Va.  It is what the "B" stands for in the acronym (FAB) Whitman has championed by word of mouth and on the gear it wears.

It is evoked by the way this team played every game during a five-month odyssey of selfless, joyful, improvised physical poetry which produced the best record in Division III men's basketball -- no matter who wins the title on Saturday.

And when Blues head coach Eric Bridgeland, and juniors Jase Harrison and Tim Howell shuffled into the press conference to take questions following their only loss in 32 games here Friday, it was the meaning of Bridgeland's instinctive, natural gesture.

In a room surrounded by curtains in a familiar shade of blue, deep in the labyrinthine underbelly of the Salem Civic Center, they climbed onto a dais directly under a ceiling vent blasting hot air, and positioned themselves behind the phalanx of microphones jutting toward them.

Without thinking, Bridgeland put an arm around Harrison, seated to his right, and Howell, seated to his left, and pulled them together.

"Let's get closer," he said.

Whitman basketball is a brotherhood. And though it suffered the pain of a 91-85, season-ending loss to third-ranked Babson (30-2) in the NCAA Division III men's national basketball semifinals, Whitman (31-1) remained its brothers' keeper.

"I'm so proud of our guys," Bridgeland said. "What a great run. These guys are so resilient. I was talking to our staff, and I said, 'It's a kid's game.' We were part of their journey. All season long, in the middle of pressure, they were having a blast."

In a season full of milestones reached, histories made and thrills galore, top-ranked Whitman on Friday conjured moments that will stay etched in memory eternal. A 45-20 run to open the game. A pickpocketing frenzy led by Austin Butler and Joey Hewitt that stretched a 12-point lead with just 14:10 left in the game. A flurry of buckets by Harrison, Hewitt, Butler and Jack Stewart inside the final three minutes that muted the Beavers' howling partisans and obliterated all but three points of what had been an 85-72 Babson lead.

Those were glimpses both of what was, in this unforgettable season of record wins, of program firsts -- undefeated regular season, conference tournament championship, Elite Eight, Final Four -- as well as what yet may be.

After all, there are no seniors in this brotherhood, and kinship is not an outcome-based spiritual adhesive.

"We're going to be sharper. We're going to be quicker. We're going to be better," said Howell, who led Whitman with 23 points. "We're going to be closer than ever.

"We're going to be back."

Despite forcing 23 turnovers and rushing methodical Babson into a style that its All-American senior, Joey Flannery, described as "hectic," Whitman could not make enough shots or secure enough loose balls down the stretch to hold off the Beavers, who played in the national semifinals in 2015 and set a new school record for wins in a season with the victory Friday.

Flannery, who became the 10th-leading scorer in Division III history during a back-breaking barrage of jumpers midway through the second half, had 13 of his 24 points after halftime. Flannery buried three 3-pointers during the Beavers' 30-5 run to the 3:31 mark of the second half.

"They fly around" on defense," Flannery said of Whitman. "They all have really good hands. They read the passing game well. We had to space it out and make it harder for them to close gaps.

"We also hunkered down and played some defense of our own."

Trailing 87-83 with under 40 seconds to play, the Blues forced a turnover on a Babson inbounds pass. Howell, 6-foot-1 and 163 pounds of indomitable willpower, forced his way into a crowded lane but could not get one of his trademark floaters to drop.

Babson rebounded -- it won the glass decisively, 45-26 -- and despite missing the front end of a one-and-one after the Blues fouled, it retained possession on Charlie Rice's fifth offensive rebound of the game.

That led to two more free throw opportunities, both of which Rice converted with 28.4 seconds left.

"Charlie Rice is our company guy," Babson head coach Stephen Brennan said. "He was a beast on the backboards."

"We pride ourselves on hustle plays, on creating extra possessions," said Bridgeland. "Babson had their own. They got more than we did. I'm proud of our guys; they showed great fight. Babson is a great team."

When Butler went the length of the floor after a rebound, slicing contemptuously and eloquently through four Babson defenders for a layin, the Blues led 45-20 at the 7:33 mark of the first half. It capped what was arguably the best 12 minutes -- poised, impervious, controlled, a casual strut -- in the history of the program.

"They came out hot," Flannery said.

"We were kind of throwing it all over the place," added Babson's Nick Comenale (22 points).

"Whitman came ready to play," said Brennan. "Their style of play was fantastic. They imposed their will on us."

But neither that pace and quality -- nor the Beavers' unease with Whitman's pressure -- lasted.

Whitman cooled off from a peak of 65 percent shooting. Babson started getting open looks behind the press, or offensive rebounds in perfect shooting spots off long, back-iron caroms.

Flannery began being Flannery.

And by halftime, the dream start, and a Whitman scoring pace that would have translated to 150 points over 40 minutes, had been tempered by the Beavers' ferocious response: a 27-6 run to close the half.

Howell made his first six shots and checked into recess with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Harrison scored five of his 15 points at the free throw line and had three of the Blues' seven steals. Butler had a team-high five rebounds in the first half and dished three of Whitman's six assists.

Only Harrison and Hewitt (two personals apiece) were in the vaguest of foul trouble.

Babson was shooting 56.3 percent at the break (to Whitman's 57.1).

Notwithstanding the Blues' brilliant second-half sequence from the 18:08- to the 14:10 mark, which saw the Beavers cough up seven turnovers and Butler and Co. feast in transition, Babson's footing in the contest rarely wavered again. The Beavers shot 60 percent (18 of 30) from the floor in the second half. It's four leading scorers -- Flannery, Comenale, Isaiah Nelsen (20 points), and Rice (19 points) -- combined to make 34 of 54 shots.

Babson made just two field goals over the final 3:30 while committing four turnovers in that span. Although it's a meaningless footnote, Whitman's last-gasp momentum was in crescendo at the final horn.

"I was hoping it would last. Give us another 30 seconds…" Bridgeland said, a bit wistfully. "We'd love to play Babson again some time."

Flannery wondered whether the Blues "got a little complacent" or lacked "that killer mentality," questions that Whitman's body of work have already, summarily rendered absurd.

The answer, perhaps, ought to be regarded as a work in progress.

Butler, who had 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals, one block, and a sophomore campaign worthy of All-American status in universes that recognize superlative versatility, will be back next season.

Fellow sophomore Stewart, who hit three NBA All-Star-Game-range 3-pointers and swiped three steals, is back.

Harrison -- he of 19 points, three steals and three assists  is back.

JoJo Wiggins, who had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and two blocked shots, is back.

Hewitt, who had 12 points and three steals, is back.

So are Jaron Kirkley, Christian McDonald and Cedric Jacobs-Jones, who saw time on Friday and each had moments of heroism throughout a season that now beckons for long, luxuriating reminiscence.

The brotherhood is intact. The one-game schedule resumes next fall.

"We play for each other," said Harrison. "We love each other. This is a 'to-be-continued.'

"I'm excited for what's to come," he added. "This isn't an ending.

"It's a beginning."