WALLA WALLA, Wash. -
Xzavier Lino scored a game-high 23 points to go along with 13 rebounds,
Walter Lum chipped in 10 more but it wasn't enough as the Whitman College men's basketball team saw its seven-game winning streak snapped in a 65-63 loss to Muhlenberg College on Thursday at the Sherwood Center.
Murphy Caffo added eight points and nine rebounds for the Blues (9-2) who nearly pulled out an impressive and hard-fought win. Whitman had the ball out of bounds at midcourt with 19 seconds to play. An errant inbounds pass allowed a clear path to the hoop for the Mules, but Lum raced down the court for a block and had a chance to win with a three pointer, but he couldn't get his shot to fall as Muhlenberg walked away with the win.
The Mules saw contributions across the board. Five players scored in double figures led by Giovanni Rubino and Brandon Goldberg who both scored a team-high 12 points.Â
Points were hard to come by for the Blues in the first half. Lum's jumper gave the Blues their first basket just over a minute into the game, but Whitman didn't locate another bucket until Jander Cline's hoop made it a 9-7 score with 13:33 to play.
Cline hit again moments later to shave the deficit to one point, but the Mules ran off eight unanswered points to push the lead to 19-10 with 10:55 to play. Muhlenberg's defense forced Whitman into tough looks each time down the court and extended its lead to as many as 13 points. Lino then got hot from the floor, hitting a jumper and dialing long distance as the Blues trailed by five points heading to the locker room.
Whitman tied the game early after halftime as the two teams treated the fans to a nailbiter of a second half. Back-to-back three pointers from Lino put the Blues up by one, but layups from Jayson Williams-Johnson and Tommy McGuire regained the lead for the Mules. Whitman would later trail by four, but a Lum three pointer made it a 46-45 game with 11:26 to play.
The final 8:02 featured 11 lead changes. Whitman trailed by three points with just over three minutes to play and came roaring back with a 7-0 run. Nikola Trifunovic capped the spurt with a layup with 1:17 to play. The final minute saw the Blues unable to score and Muhlenburg hit just enough of its free throws to pull out the win.
Whitman now resumes Northwest Conference play, hosting Pacific (OR) on Friday, Jan. 6 at 8:00 p.m.
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