PLATTEVILLE, Wisc.  Everyone said the rematch would be different. The unsubtle subtext was that the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point would prove a much sturdier foil in a less-neutral, vastly higher-stakes sequel against top-ranked Whitman.

By a handful of superficial markers -- a lower final score, a (barely) tighter final margin -- the pregame hype was confirmed.

But make no mistake. The Blues' 65-55 victory in an NCAA Division III men's national basketball tournament sectional here Friday at Bo Ryan Court, which sent Whitman to the sectional championship round for the second consecutive season, left the 17th-ranked Pointers in the same position as 70 days ago in Las Vegas, when Whitman beat them by 15 in the D3hoops.com Classic:

Looking for answers.

This was different, but only in the sense that Whitman (29-1) played even better -- and more confounding, and more disciplined, and less merciful -- defense. The Blues held a double-digit lead for the final 20 minutes, 38 seconds of the game. They led by as many as 22 points in the second half and by no fewer than 12 -- despite major foul trouble for junior Austin Butler and senior Tim Howell -- until a Stevens Point 3-pointer with 18 seconds left.

"Our guys' attention to our game plan was excellent," Whitman head coach Eric Bridgeland added. "They played their butts off. They were all on the same page with what we had to do, defensively."

Whitman will play Nebraska Wesleyan at 5 p.m. Walla Walla-time on Saturday for the sectional championship -- and a berth in the national semifinals. Nebraska Wesleyan knocked off site host University of Wisconsin-Platteville 79-78 here Friday on Nate Schimonitz's basket with two seconds left.

Whitman had more steals (11) Friday than the first meeting against Stevens Point, forced the same number of turnovers (22), held the Pointers (21-9) to a lower 3-point percentage, and cooled off Canon O'Heron, who didn't start in the Dec. 29 Vegas showdown but became a starter in Stevens Point's next game -- and was its leading scorer 10 times as it won 15 of 18 entering the rematch.

O'Heron, who scored 30 points in a blowout of Bethany Lutheran on March 3 which punched the Pointers' sectional ticket, had nine Friday.

Whitman's defensive game plan was to keep the Pointers' two best outside shooters, M.J. Delmore and Nate Dodge, in crosshairs.

"Coach was talking all week about making sure we found those two guys," said Howell, who led all scorers with 18 points.

Whitman found -- and enveloped -- Dodge and Delmore, holding them to a combined 11 points and 1-of-8 3-point shooting.

"Our halfcourt defense has come a long way," said Howell. "Obviously, our press got us a lot of easy looks, but our ability to communicate and rotate and shut down their halfcourt offense was the difference."

The added attention to the Pointers' dastardly long-range duo didn't compromise Whitman's defense elsewhere. The rest of the Stevens Point roster made 16 of 38 field goals (42 percent).

"We were able to limit those guys and contain what they were trying to do," said Butler, "and we were rotating really well."

Howell made eight of 13 shots and dished a team-high four assists for the winners. Butler added 10 points on five-of-six shooting with a game-high four steals. Jack Stewart scored nine points, pulled five rebounds and blocked two shots, and fellow junior Joey Hewitt and first-year Darné Duckett added seven points apiece.

The Blues were streaky on offense, using a series of brilliant bursts -- underwritten, as ever, by sequences of mesmerizing defensive mastery -- to push their 11-point halftime lead further and further out of reach. Whitman opened the second half on a 9-4 run, featuring a 3-pointer by Stewart, runner by Howell, put-back by Ben Beatie and layup by Butler.

The Blues held Stevens Point scoreless from the 15:20 mark until the 11:32 mark, a stretch that saw Hewitt score twice, Howell once, and Butler purloin a steal and sprint in for a dunk. That flurry made it 49-28. That would stand as the largest margin of the second half until Hewitt's 3-pointer with 7:45 to go gave Whitman a 58-36 advantage.

The Pointers made two pushes over the next five minutes, each cutting their deficit to 14 points. They were repelled by suspects usual and not-so-usual.

With 5:52 to play, Garrett Nelson hit a 3-pointer for Stevens Point while drawing a foul, and his free throw made it 58-44.

On its ensuing possession, Whitman let some time bleed before missing a contested shot against an elapsing shot clock. Cedric Jacobs-Jones battled for an offensive rebound, winning a new possession. Howell eventually attacked the paint from the top of the key before kicking out to sophomore Jaron Kirkley.

"I have full faith and trust in all my guys," Howell said.

Kirkley, who had played just 11 minutes in the postseason prior to Friday's sectional, hit a 3-pointer from about 24 feet -- his first playoff basket -- to give Whitman a 61-44 lead with 5:07 to play.

"That," Bridgeland said, "was a big shot."

"To see someone who isn't playing the minutes he was early in the season be such a great teammate… His number was called, he made that play," Howell added.

It was 61-47 when Howell converted a three-point play, staking the Blues a 17-point lead with 2:40 left. Stevens Point never stopped battling, but its comeback prayers were effectively eliminated in that moment, just as Kirkley's bomb had stiff-armed hope a few minutes earlier.

Kirkley "worked so hard all year, and they were stealing the momentum," said Butler. "We were thinking, 'Not another comeback.' I think that's what is so dangerous about us. People have to focus on Tim, and Joey, and Jack and Trevor shooting threes. We can go deep into our bench and still be successful."

The Pointers eventually managed to find a semblance of press management as the first half wore on, but Whitman's defense was unnavigable early, which allowed the Blues to race ahead 19-9. Stevens Point had 10 turnovers in that span.

A 7-0 run closed the gap, but Whitman scored the last six points of the half to take a 30-19 lead into the break.

Hewitt had all seven of his points in the second half. Hewitt and Stewart had two steals apiece, and Trevor Osborne, Robert Colton and Jacobs-Jones one each.

"We just keep fighting," said Howell. "It doesn't matter if (the opponent) goes on a little run, or if we're not getting calls, or if we're up 15 or 20. That's what special about this group.

"These guys are just warriors."