WALLA WALLA, Wash. -
Xzavier Lino delivered a double double with a game-high 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds,
Walter Lum scored 18 points, handed out four assists and grabbed six rebounds and the Whitman College men's basketball team overwhelmed George Fox 86-64 in the semifinals of the Northwest Conference Tournament on Friday night at the Sherwood Center.
The Blues (22-4) poured 53 second-half points on the Bruins to break open a close game and now take on the winner Whitworth and Puget Sound for the NWC Tournament title on Saturday night.
Chris Nickelberry led George Fox (9-18) with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Nick Greenwood chipped in 11 points off the bench.
The two teams traded points in the game's first 10 minutes as Ale Efe Isik nailed a three pointer to put the Blues up four points. Austin Clark responded however with a triple and Nickelberry connected on a jumper to give Fox an 18-17 lead.
Whitman slowly - but surely - began to assert its dominance. Grant Hunt drained a three pointer to kickstart a 10-2 run for the Blues. Hunt connected again from the floor before back-to-back buckets from Lum, the second of a three-point variety, put Whitman up 27-20 with 4:14 to play until halftime. Lino later hit a pair of jumpers and the Blues carried a six-point into the break.
Whitman blew the lid off the game in the second half. Murphy Caffo was dominant in the paint as the half got underway. He scored on three straight shots and all of a sudden Whitman had extended its lead to 12 points.Â
The Bruins brought the lead back down to single digits, but Jai Deshpande nailed a three pointer as part of an 8-2 Whitman run. The lead never dipped into single digits and swelled to as many as 34 points. The Blues unleashed a run of 14 unanswered points and won going away.Â
Tipoff for the championship game is set for Saturday at 8:00 p.m. at the Sherwood Center.
