WALLA WALLA, Wash.  Somehow, the sustained excellence of Whitman's 29-win, zero-loss journey has not diminished the shock and thrill and jaw-drop of those moments when that excellence upticks into a higher realm of amazing.

It is the leap of John Ross to John Ross, 4.22 seconds later; of Omar Little to Omar Little whistling; of Michael Jordan to Michael Jordan with his tongue out.

It is the leap the top-ranked Whitman Blues made early in the second half of a 79-73 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the second round of the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament at Sherwood Center Saturday, taking flight cues from Tim Howell and Austin Butler to blow open the game and blast into the sectional round of 16.

That's where Whitman's season ended last year.

"That didn't sit well," junior JoJo Wiggins said. "We've got something to prove. We've got a target on our backs. But we're coming, regardless."

"Basketball is just a reason for us to get together," added Blues head coach Eric Bridgeland. "If we weren't here, we'd be someplace else, together, having fun."

Whitman (29-0) will face Hardin-Simmons in the round of 16 on March 10. Sectional sites have yet to be announced, but if this was Whitman's last Sherwood hurrah, the final 20 minutes at home were a fitting valentine to "friends, to family, to faculty, to the community," as Wiggins put it.

Butler, stealing and slashing as if in conspiracy with the ball itself, had 10 points in a 21-2 Whitman run that turned a three-point deficit into a 16-point cushion with 11:17 left -- and turned the crowd into a howling horde of banshees.

"We've been protecting the ball well all year," said Stags point guard Michael Scarlett. "They just sped us up, tipped passes, poked the ball away."

CMS had nine turnovers and no baskets during that run.

"That pressure was stifling," CMS head coach Ken Scalmanini said. "They could make a run in this tournament."

Scalmanini's squad steadied itself and crept within single-digits inside the final five minutes, which was when Howell took over. If D3 basketball were a video game, Howell would be its cheat code; his arsenal of runners, floaters and teardrop J's accounted for 11 points down the stretch.

On a night when jump shots wouldn't fall (Whitman was 2 for 16 on 3-pointers), the Blues forced 27 turnovers. They had 13 steals. They won the second half 48-39.

"We would have liked to pause for poise a few more times in the second half," said Scalmanini. "We had a hard time handling their pressure."

Joey Hewitt's 3-pointer with 11:17 left in the game -- Whitman's first made 3 – gave the Blues a 56-40 lead. The advantage stayed in double digits until a pair of 3-pointers by

Scarlett, with 5:18 and 4:43 left, cut Whitman's lead to 8. It was down to four points, 75-71, after Riley Hall, the Stags' only senior, stole the ball and raced in for a dunk with 1:05 left.

"The great thing about this tournament is, you're playing champions," said Bridgeland. "It's always a battle."

The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions came up with a stop on Whitman's ensuing possession.

But Jase Harrison stole the inbounds pass – Whitman's 13^th and final steal of the night – and was fouled, sinking two free throws for a six-point lead with 34.4 seconds left.

The win was safe, the undefeated season extended, the comeback from a 34-31 halftime deficit complete.

"Austin Butler was a huge part of that (second-half) spark," said Howell, who had 21 points and three steals. "Defense leads to offense."

"Claremont is a great team," said Wiggins. "We knew the buckets would come eventually. This is the closest team I've ever been a part of."

"As soon as you set foot on campus, the coaching staff preaches brotherhood," added Howell.

Butler had 18 points, four rebounds and three steals for Whitman. Hewitt added 10 points, Wiggins had nine rebounds, and Harrison chipped in eight points, three assists and two steals.

After the game, Whitman players and coaches stood together at center court. They faced one side of the gym. Then they turned around to face the other.

"We're Walla Walla. We're so immersed in this community. We have so many friends," Bridgeland said. "This is like home. This is family. We just wanted to thank them for all of their support."

"It was a great feeling to be able to share this joy," said Wiggins. "We feed off that crowd. We see them standing outside, waiting for tickets.

"We see that."

Notes: The Whitman/Hardin-Simmons winner will face the Marietta/Rochester winner in a sectional final on March 11, with a berth in the national semifinals at stake. Whitman beat Marietta 72-71 on Dec. 22 in Daytona Beach … The sectional field of 16 is set. It consists of No.1 Whitman, No. 7 Marietta, No. 13 Rochester, No. 2 Christopher Newport, Keene St., No. 3 Babson, No. 14 Tufts, Hardin-Simmons, No. 6 Middlebury, Endicott, No. 17 Susquehanna, Williams, No. 18 Hope, No. 12 Hanover, Augustana and Wartburg … 23 of the 25 teams ranked in the final d3hoops.com regular-season poll earned berths in the national tournament. (No. 19 Denison and No. 20 St. Norbert failed to earn at-large bids). No. 8, No. 10, No. 11, No. 16, No. 21 and No. 24 lost in the first round. No. 4, No. 5, No. 9, No. 15, No. 22 and No. 23 were eliminated on Saturday. No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 are still alive -- on the Whitman side of the bracket.