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Whitman College Athletics

Schedule

69
Pacific (OR) Pac 7-5,2-1 NWC
79
Winner Whitman Whitm 10-2,3-0 NWC
Pacific (OR) Pac
7-5,2-1 NWC
69
Final
79
Whitman Whitm
10-2,3-0 NWC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Pacific (OR) Pac 37 32 69
Whitman Whitm 39 40 79
Team
Steve Frommell, d3photography.com

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Takes Down Pacific in Battle of NWC Unbeaten Teams

WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Xzavier Lino scored a team-high 15 points, Jander Cline posted 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench and the Whitman College men's basketball team took down Pacific (Ore.) 79-69 in a Northwest Conference battle of unbeatens on Friday night at the Sherwood Center.

The win puts the Blues atop the league standings at 3-0 and now 10-2 overall. Five Whitman players scored in double figures including Cline and Jai Deshpande (12 pts, 6 reb). The two teams both shot it well, but it were the Blues who dominated the boards (39-23) and were plus-10 in points in the paint.

Jacob Bolder led the Boxers with a game-high 16 points and Truman Young added 14 points on 4-7 shooting from three.

The Blues led early in an exciting first half. Buckets from Ale Efe Isik and Lino helped Whitman build a 12-8 lead with 14:08 to play, but consecutive hoops from Truman helped the Boxers take the lead. Pacific remained hot from the floor as Jared Cattell nailed a three pointer to put his team up 20-16 approaching the midway point of the half.

Whitman then came alive in the form of back-to-back baskets from Deshpande. He was able to get to the hoop for a layup, then Walter Lum found him streaking for a fast break layup and Whitman regained the lead at 25-22 with 8:18 remaining. 

The Blues took a 39-37 lead into halftime, then came crashing out of the gates with a 15-2 run to open the second half. Murphy Caffo scored back-to-back layups then Lum dialed long distance and got to the hoop as Whitman opened up a 54-39 lead with 16:19 to play.

Pacific did not go away however. The Boxers followed Whitman's run with seven unanswered points and, after a Young three pointer and a Lucas Winkler layup, had shaved the lead to five points. The Blues responded in kind and pushed the lead back up to double digits with just over six minutes to play. Key baskets down the stretch kept the Boxers at bay, and Nikola Trifunovic's three ball sealed the win with 42 seconds to play.

Whitman closes out its NWC home-opening weekend on Saturday with a 6:00 p.m. tip against Lewis & Clark.
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