WALLA WALLA, Wash. -
Xzavier Lino and
Jai Deshpande both had a team-high 13 points,
Murphy Caffo added 12 points and eight rebounds and the Whitman College men's basketball team opened its final weekend of league play with an 85-64 win over Willamette on Friday night at the Sherwood Center.
The game was the first of two tuneups for the Blues who have already clinched the Northwest Conference regular season title and the No. 1 seed at next weekend's Northwest Conference Tournament.Â
Whitman was a well-oiled machine, recording 22 assists on 32 made baskets. The Blues shot 11-28 from beyond the arc and were plus-26 in bench scoring. Josiah Frank led all scorers for the Bearcats with 16 points and Ryder Hsiung added 15 points and four rebounds.
The Blues were unstoppable in the early going. Grant Hunt hit from three, then Murphy Caffo hit back-to-back shots to give the Blues a 10-7 lead with 16:59 to play. A host of other Blues then got in on the action as Jander Cline, Walter Lum and Ale Efe Isik all scored as part of a 10-0 Whitman run. Gavin Rippere's turnaround jumper halted the run, but the Blues then started to heat up from distance. Nikola Trifunovic and Jai Deshpande came off the bench, each hitting three pointers to extend the lead to 15 points.
The Blues did not let up and pushed the lead north of 20 points. Aidan von Buchwaldt drilled a straightaway three pointer before Hunt's steal led to an Efe Isik layup and a 22-point lead for the Blues. Weston Crump then entered the game and scored to lift the lead to 41-17 with 6:43 to play in the half. Whitman exploded down the stretch as Hunt and Lum both hit from distance and Lino closed the half with a bucket to put Whitman up by 28 points at the break.
The second half turned out to be more of a formality. Hunt opened the scoring with a layup, then Lino and Hsiung traded three pointers to leave the Whitman lead at 30 points. The lead later swelled to 34 points after a Deshpande three pointer and the Blues coasted to the dominant win.
Whitman now hosts its regular season finale and Senior Night on Saturday vs. Linfield. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.
