On a night that featured the top two teams in the Northwest Conference in three pointers made and attempted, it was the work being done at the free throw line and on the offensive glass that proved to be the deciding factor in the Blues 92-74 victory over Willamette at the Cone Field House on Saturday night.  

It was a bit of a slow start for both teams as Whitman (14-3, 7-1 NWC) and Willamette (5-11, 1-7 NWC) missed the first five combined shots of the game before Mitch Lind's three pointer almost three minutes into the contest made it an early 5-0 lead for the Bearcats. But the Blues would then go on a 10-0 run to take a lead they would never surrender, capped off by Jander Cline's layup on the assist from Xzavier Lino to make it 10-5.   

After a back and forth period where both teams traded baskets and free throws, the Blues began to pull away in the back end of the first half. After Kenny Wright Jr. capped a three point play with a free throw to make the game 19-14, the Blues would then go on a 22-7 run over the next seven minutes of game time, capped off by a Murphy Caffo dunk to extend the lead to 41-21 with 4:20 remaining in the first half. During that stretch, seven different Blues contributed points, and  Whitman began to assert themselves on the glass.  Whitman held the rebounding margin in the game 37-25, including a 16-4 advantage on the offensive glass, leading to numerous second chance opportunities that helped them extend the lead all the way up to 52-31 at the half.

The second half was much more contested, as they immediately opened up second half scoring with Ryder Hsiung scoring the first points of the half to cut the lead to 19. But Murphy Caffo came back to answer with a basket of his own, and Ali Efe Isik added a 3 point play to put the Blues back on top 57-33. That is when the Blues began to start to shoot better from outside, as Xzavier Lino would knock down back to back three pointers, and Grant Hunt would add one of his own to extend the lead up to 33 with 15:48 left to play  At that point Willamette started its run to try and get back in the game. The Bearcats would go on a 19-4 run when Whitman called timeout with 9:24 left, seeing their lead shrink back down to 19. Willamette would push the envelope again offensively, as another offensive spurt closed the gap down to a 10 point lead when Terry Sherman made a three pointer to make the score 80-70 with 5:44 left to play.

At that point Walter Lum took over down the stretch, scoring the Blues next seven points, pushing the lead back up to 17 with 3:22 left to play. Jai Desphande completed a three point play after being fouled by Levi Basurto with 2:20 to play, and it helped seal the deal for the Blues, completing the weekend still in the Northwest Conference race.

Xzavier Lino completed his double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Murphy Caffo had 15 points and nine rebounds, Walter Lum chipped in 17 points, four assists and four steals, and Hunt, Desphande, and Cline were all in double figures for the Blues, who will host Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University next weekend back at home in the Sherwood Athletic Center.