WALLA WALLA, Wash. Wedged as it were between an historic rivalry game and a road showdown against a notoriously dangerous opponent, Whitman's contest against George Fox here Saturday was tailor-made to be overlooked.

"This," junior guard Jack Stewart said, "was a trap game."

There were no signs, however, that the top-ranked Blues' attentions were elsewhere in a wire-to-wire, 117-63 rout that preserved the intensity of Tuesday's victory over third-ranked Whitworth and kept the needle leaning hard to the right for a Jan. 19 visit to third-place Linfield.

"We stayed focus," said Stewart, whose nine rebounds helped Whitman overwhelm George Fox 56-30 on the glass. "The fact that we were able to play well from the jump, to be aggressive and not get carried away… I really enjoyed that."

The top-ranked Blues (15-0, 6-0 in Northwest Conference) checked many important boxes in the victory. They scored above their conference-leading per-game average, dished above their conference-leading assists average (with 22 Friday), had five players score in double-figures, and put 12 players in the scoring column.

Defensively, they played as though each possession was make-or-break, holding the Bruins (5-9, 1-4) to 38.7 percent shooting from the floor, swiping 21 steals and forcing 32 turnovers.

"Everybody's effort was amazing. We have five starters because we have to," said Stewart, "but there's no real 'first team' or 'second team' here. Just a great group that is really talented."

Tim Howell had 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting to lead Whitman. Joey Hewitt added 22 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Darné Duckett chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jaron Kirkley scored 12 points and made two steals. Robert Colton added 11 points and nine rebounds.

Fans who stuck around, well after the conclusion was foregone, rewarded when Walla Walla native Andrew Harvey nailed a 3-pointer in the final seconds to complete the scoring.

Nine different players played at least 11 minutes, which served as a both a form of reward for those who played less in the 91-75 Whitworth victory (which featured the highest-ranked matchup in Sherwood Center history) and a form of rest with a critical road trip looming.

Other standouts Friday included Ben Beatie (eight points on 4-of-5 shooting), Trevor Osborne (3 of 6 on 3-pointers, four steals) and Austin Butler (team-high six assists, four steals). Stewart added two of Whitman's seven blocked shots.

The Blues made 12 3-pointers and shot 52.9 percent (45 of 85) from the field. They had 23 offensive rebounds.

The Linfield game is at 8 p.m. in McMinnville, Oregon. The Wildcats (10-3, 4-1) lost 67-65 to Whitman on Feb. 4, 2017 in McMinnville, the closest conference game the Blues have played during their current 30-game NWC winning streak.