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Men's Basketball

Blues Arrive In Clinton, Set For Williams Matchup

CLINTON, N.Y. - Walla Walla, Wash. to Clinton, N.Y. isn't the most direct of routes, but the Whitman men's basketball team made it work. Departing campus Tuesday night, the team drove and stayed the night in Spokane before taking a mid-afternoon flight with a stopover in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The Blues then traveled to Syracuse for final leg of the trip and, about an hour's drive later, made a late night arrival in Clinton at the Hampton Inn.

Despite the day-plus of travel, Whitman never missed a day of practice. The Blues conducted a full session on campus prior to leaving for Spokane, then practiced for an hour and a half at Gonzaga University before heading to the airport and making the cross country trek.

Whitman will head to Hamilton tonight for its NCAA practice at Margaret Bundy Scott Fieldhouse.

The second-rankled Blues enter Friday's 5:30 p.m. tip with Williams as the tournament's top seed. With Nebraska Wesleyan losing in the second round, the Blues are the highest ranked team remaining. They are armed with newly minted first-team all-conference selections Austin Butler and Joey Hewitt. Butler was also named the Northwest Conference's Most Valuable Player.

Whitman, after beating Texas Lutheran and Pomona-Pitzer in the opening two rounds, brings arguably the most explosive offense and most formidable defenses in the nation. The Blues lead the country in scoring margin (23.2 ppg), rank third in points per game (104.1) and fourth with 335 made three-pointers

With its offense the talk of the town, it's easy to overlook Whitman's defense which, statistically, is as good as any team out there. The Blues rank second in steals (404), third in steals per game (13.9) and fourth in turnover margin (10.4).

The Matchup
Williams (22-6), ranked No. 19 in the final D3Hoops regular season poll and No. 1 in the Northeast region, hosted the first two rounds of the dance despite losing in the semifinals of the NESCAC Tournament. The Ephs made good on the NCAA's reward, handily beating Husson and Gwynedd Mercy for the eventual sectional semifinal matchup with the Blues. The Ephs come in with some impressive statistics, most notably on the defensive side of the ball. Their height and length have posed problems for teams all season long, allowing a nation-low 37.1% field goal percentage and rank third nationally in defensive rebounds per game (32.0). Williams is led by seniors and NESCAC all-conference selections Bobby Casey and James Heskett

GAME INFORMATION
Friday, March 8 (Sectional Semifinals)
Game 1: Whitman vs Williams (5:30 p.m. ET) Live Stream | Livestats
Game 2: Christopher Newport vs Hamilton (7:30 p.m. ET) Live Stream | Livestats
Saturday, March 9 (Sectional Final)
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (7:00 p.m. ET)

TICKET INFORMATION
$10 Adult
$5 students, senior citizens, children
FREE - Children under 2 years old

* Tickets sold at field house entrance on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
* A limited number of tickets for Saturday's sectional final will be available Friday night for 30 minutes following the completion of each sectional semifinal.
* Remaining tickets will be sold at the field house entrance on Saturday starting at 6:00 p.m.
 
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Players Mentioned

Austin Butler

#0 Austin Butler

W
6' 3"
Senior
Jr.
Joey Hewitt

#3 Joey Hewitt

G
6' 2"
Senior
Jr.

Players Mentioned

Austin Butler

#0 Austin Butler

6' 3"
Senior
Jr.
W
Joey Hewitt

#3 Joey Hewitt

6' 2"
Senior
Jr.
G
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