WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Jander Cline led five players in double figures with a game-high 19 points on 9-11 shooting and the Whitman College men's basketball team took down George Fox 95-77 in Northwest Conference action on Friday night.
Aidan von Buchwaldt added 14 points on 4-7 shooting from three as the Blues (16-6, 10-3 NWC) shot a season-best 68% from the floor while adding a scorching 52% shooting from beyond the arc. Jai Deshpande added 17 points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds while Ali Efe Isik chipped in 12 points and Isiah Amato added 10 more.Â
James Moore shared game-high honors with Cline after scoring 19 points for the Bruins (14-8, 7-6 NWC).
The Blues got off to a hot start as Cline, Efe Isik and Amato all hit from the floor to put the Blues up 12-4 with 15:12 to play. The Bruins finally got it going as Nick Greenwood hit a pair of jumpers to shave the lead to two points. Later, Charlie Powers nailed a three pointer to give George Fox an 18-16 lead midway through the half.
Whitman trailed by a point with 6:42 to play before dropping a haymaker to close the half. Alex Pape's three pointer kickstarted what turned out to be 11 unanswered points from the Blues which included three straight three-pointers from von Buchwaldt. Grant Hunt stole an inbounds pass from underneath the basket on the final possession and scored to put his team up 17 heading to the locker room.
The Blues came out sluggish to begin the second half and, while George Fox hung around, they never posed a major threat as the Blues turned it on late and cruised to the win. The Bruins shaved the lead to as close as five points but Cline responded with back-to-back buckets to help push the lead back up to double digits.
Whitman closes its regular season home slate on Saturday with a Senior Day matchup against Linfield.
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