WALLA WALLA, Wash.  The final weekend of the regular season ought to be an appetizer for the postseason feast that, hopefully, awaits top-ranked Whitman.

The histories made in the Blues' 93-67 victory over Willamette at the Sherwood Athletic Center Friday barely left room for dessert.

Whitman clinched back-to-back outright Northwest Conference titles with its 39th consecutive regular-season conference win, and Tim Howell, who will be honored here Saturday as the Blues' lone senior, became the second-leading career scorer in Whitman College men's basketball history on a basket midway through the decisive second half.

Howell, who is as good as anyone in the history of the conference at beating multiple defenders off the dribble, sneaked behind the defense for an open layup at the 10:37 mark to pass Chris Faidley ('09) in the program record book and give the Blues (24-0, 15-0 in NWC) a 23-point lead -- a fitting margin for the Calabasas, California, native who wears No. 23.

The bucket gave Howell 1,722 career points. Faidley scored 1,720.

"Tim's the second-leading all-time scorer, which is a big deal, because he passed so many accomplished student-athletes along the way," Whitman head coach Eric Bridgeland said. "But it's ironic, because his greatest contribution this season has been at the defensive end. Tim's devotion to defense has allowed us to have the special season we're having.

"He's given us everything he's got. We'll do our best to send him out tomorrow night."

Howell gave a team-high 19 points and five steals on the eve of Whitman's Senior Night, when Linfield will stand between the Blues and the second perfect regular season in at least 88 years of  Northwest Conference play. First-year Darné Duckett added 16 points, junior Joey Hewitt 15 points, sophomore Jaron Kirkley 11 and junior Austin Butler 10 for Whitman, which twisted the defensive tourniquet over the first five minutes of the second half to take command.

During that stretch, the Blues did not allow a basket. Howell had six points and Duckett a 3-pointer on a dish from Robert Colton to cap a 13-1 run that tripled Whitman's tenuous, six-point halftime lead. The Blues never led by fewer than 14 points after the run, which made it 54-35 at the 15-minute mark.

"We didn't have our best in the first, but we did a good job in the second half," said Bridgeland. "We were a little distracted by Senior Weekend. It was nice to see us bounce back."

Willamette handled Whitman's pressure well and recovered defensively to keep the tempo to its comfort in the first half, which saw the Blues pocket a 41-35 lead into recess.

The Whitman lead was larger, earlier. Hewitt had seven of the Blues' first 11 points. Howell completed a three-point play to give Whitman a 23-9 lead with 12:15 left in the half.

That would be its largest lead until after halftime.

The Bearcats outscored Whitman 19-12 over the final 6:29 of the half. The Blues made four of their last five free throws after missing six of 10 to open the game, but struggled with almost-as-open looks from outside, where they converted just one of nine 3-point looks.

Willamette, which committed eight turnovers -- "just" eight, considering the defense confronted -- struggled against Whitman's underrated halfcourt D (it was 11 for 32 from the field) but took care of business at the free throw line (11 of 12). It also held a 24-19 edge on the glass.

In the second half, the Blues were just as stingy when dug in and more effective in squeezing turnovers. Willamette (11-13, 6-9) shot 37.9 percent from the field, overall, and committed 15 of its 23 turnovers after the break.

Colton had a team-high six rebounds and five of Whitman's 17 steals. Kirkley was seven for seven at the free throw line and swiped a pair of steals, and Cedric Jacobs-Jones added five rebounds and two steals.

The Blues were 30 for 51 (58.8 percent) on shots inside the 3-point arc.

They host Linfield at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Notes: Don Woodworth ('68) is the all-time leading scorer at Whitman with 2,019 points … Howell scored 92 points in his first year at Whitman (2014-15), 562 points as a sophomore and 654 junior year. He has 414 points this season. Prior to Friday's game, Howell had passed Brandon Shaw (1,323 points), Bruce Bennett (1,605), Dave Mastin (1,605), Keith Orchard (1,621) and Dan Rough (1,639) on the Whitman career scoring leaderboard this season. He began the season with 1,310 career points … The Blues entered the weekend with a strong argument to be considered the best pressure defense in the country, ranked second nationally in steals per game (16.2) and third in turnovers forced (27.83). Whitman has faced -- and unraveled -- three of the best ball-security teams in America. Ohio Wesleyan, which averages a nation's-fewest nine turnovers per game, committed 18 in a loss to the Blues. Occidental, 19th at 11.1 turnovers per, coughed up 28 against Whitman. Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which is tied for 22nd (11.2), had 22 turnovers against the Blues.
Jay Babbitt contributed to this report.