Whitman Whitm 9-13,7-7 NWC

Pacific Lutheran PacL 17-6,12-2 NWC

Whitman Whitm

9-13,7-7 NWC

Final

Feb. 12, 2022

Pacific Lutheran PacL

17-6,12-2 NWC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Whitman Whitm	28	26	54
Pacific Lutheran PacL	33	45	78

Summary
Box Score

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/12/2022 11:11:00 PM

Men's Basketball Falls To PLU In Regular Season Road Finale

PARKLAND, Wash. - Nikola Trifunovic scored a team-high 16 points, Xzavier Lino and Jai Deshpande both added 12 more but it wasn't enough as the Whitman College men's basketball team dropped its final regular season road contest, a 78-54 loss at Pacific Lutheran in Northwest Conference action on Saturday night at Olsen Auditorium.

The loss puts the Blues (9-13, 7-7 NWC) out of contention for the top three spots in the final standings and they now look to hold on to the No. 4 seed with two games remaining.

Seth Hall posted game highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Lutes who blew the game wide open with a dominant second half. Neither team shot it well from three point land, but the Lutes were dominant inside with a 50-26 paint scoring advantage and shot 56% in the second half to win going away.

Despite the poor three-point shooting, Whitman had it going from distance early in the game. Lino opened the game with a three ball and, after connecting on a jumper, Deshpande connected from three to put the Blues up 8-3 with 17:50 to play in the first half.

Whitman continued to lead for much of the first half as Deshpande and Grant Hunt both hit from distance to help the Blues to a 22-20 lead with 8:19 to play. PLU responded and closed the half on an 11-2 run. Tyler Ashmore converted an and-one three point play to give the Lutes the lead at 27-26 and Sean McCurdy hit from the field and the free throw line to help his team to a five-point halftime lead.

The second half started well for the Blues as Deshpande got his jumper to go before Lino converted his own and-one three point play. That would not be enough to counter the hot Lute shooting that was to come as PLU pushed the lead to double digits and beyond. Sam Noland's three pointer gave PLU its first double digit lead at 47-37 and, late in the game, Hall connected from the field to lift the lead to 20 points.

The Blues will look to secure the fourth and final spot in the NWC Tournament when it closes the regular season next weekend. They play home games against Lewis & Clark and George Fox who sits one game behind them in the standings.

#GoWhitman

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