Whitman Whitm 14-5,8-2 NWC

Pacific (OR) Pac 10-9,4-6 NWC

Whitman Whitm

14-5,8-2 NWC

Final

Jan. 27, 2024

Pacific (OR) Pac

10-9,4-6 NWC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Whitman Whitm	39	37	76
Pacific (OR) Pac	29	37	66

Summary
Box Score

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/27/2024 10:49:00 PM

Men's Basketball Tops Pacific, Sets Up Showdown With Bucs

FOREST GROVE, Ore. - Ali Efe Isik delivered another outstanding performance, tonight putting up a double double with game highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Whitman College men's basketball team to a 76-66 win over Pacific in Northwest Conference action on Saturday night.

The win places the Blues (14-5, 8-2 NWC) in a tie with Whitworth at the top of the league standings just days before the two face off against each other in another edition of The Battle of the Whits. Jai Deshpande and Jander Cline added 19 and 13 points, respectively, and both grabbed four rebounds. Efe Isik added five assists to his impressive stat line.

Devin Fortune led the way for the Boxers (10-9, 4-6 NWC) with 18 points and Jake Blazona added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Whitman led nearly the entire way and by as many as 10 points in the first half. The Blues were hot from distance early with Efe Isik completing a four-point play with the game not even a minute old. Deshpande and Alex Pape also hit three pointers early to help their team to a 14-8 lead with 15:26 to play.

Whitman continued to lead in large part due to the solid team free throw shooting performance the entire game. Efe Isik knocked down a pair from the charity stripe and Amato did the same as the lead grew to eight points. The Boxers rallied down the first half stretch when Lucas Winkler got his shot to go to make it a one-point game. The Blues responded with an 8-0 run capped by a Grant Hunt layup to take a double digit lead into the break.

Whitman extended the lead to 12 points early in the second half, but closing out the Boxers proved to be no easy task. After Amato's bucket put the Blues up 43-31, Pacific reeled off 12 unanswered to tie the game with 12:31 to play. The Blues stemmed the tide and pushed the lead back up to five points on a Deshpande three pointer and a Efe Isik dunk.

Whitman controlled the game from there on out. Deshpande converted three-point plays on back-to-back possessions, first the old-fashioned way and then from beyond the arc to help the Blues to the largest lead of the game at 14 points with 6:35 to play.

The Battle of the Whits and for conference supremacy is set for Tuesday, Jan. 30. Tipoff at the Sherwood Center is set for 8:00 p.m.

#GoWhitman

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