Whitman Whitm 8-10,3-6 NWC

Willamette Willam 11-8,6-4 NWC

Whitman Whitm

8-10,3-6 NWC

Final

Jan. 30, 2026

Willamette Willam

11-8,6-4 NWC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Whitman Whitm	35	47	82
Willamette Willam	43	36	79

Summary
Box Score

Tyler Smyth

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/30/2026 9:57:00 PM

Men's Basketball Wins Nailbiter At Willamette

SALEM, Ore. – The Whitman College men's basketball team dug out of a double-digit second-half hole and made just enough plays in the final minute to secure a crucial 82-79 Northwest Conference road win at Willamette on Friday night.

Ali Efe Isik led the Blues (8-10, 3-6 NWC) with a team-high 27 points on an ultra-efficient 10-for-13 shooting night, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line, while also adding four rebounds, two assists and a steal. He poured in 20 of those points after halftime, repeatedly attacking the paint and finishing through contact as Whitman outscored Willamette 47-36 over the final 20 minutes.

Whitman trailed 46-35 early in the second half after a Tanner Overby three pushed Willamette's lead to 11, the largest margin of the night for either side. Overby carried the Bearcat offense to the tune of a game-high 39 points. From there, the Blues methodically chipped away, with Jacob Fotu drilling a pair of threes and Isik carving up the Bearcats' defense to pull Whitman within 55-53 just over five minutes into the period. A three-point play sequence from Isik – a transition layup and free throw – and another deep three on the next trip helped swing momentum, and Whitman eventually grabbed its first lead of the half at 64-63 on an Isik triple with 8:43 to play.

Overby did his best to spoil the comeback, after shooting 13-for-21 from the floor and 8-for-8 at the line as the teams traded blows down the stretch. After Whitman built its largest lead at 74-66 on a Sarp Gokberk layup with 3:17 remaining, Overby responded with a personal 9-1 run, tying the game at 75-75 on a driving layup with 1:27 left. Milos Sarenac's baseline turnaround jumper briefly nudged Whitman back in front 77-75, but another Overby bucket and an Anujan Tennathur layup knotted things at 77-77 with under a minute to go.

Isik delivered the night's biggest shot with 23 seconds remaining, knifing into the lane for a right-handed finish that put Whitman ahead 79-77. After a defensive stand forced a Willamette miss, Djordje Lazarevic calmly split a pair at the line for an 80-77 cushion with 13 seconds on the clock. Overby hit two free throws to trim the margin to one, but Marcel Elicagaray responded by sinking two foul shots of his own with four seconds left to restore a three-point lead. Willamette's last-gasp three-pointer from the left wing was off the mark as Whitman escaped Cone Field House with the victory.

Fotu backed Isik with 15 points, three assists and five rebounds, hitting 3-of-6 from long range and going 2-for-3 at the stripe, while Elicagaray added 10 points and four assists, including those ice-cold free throws in the final seconds. Ken Higgins chipped in eight points, all in the first half, and Gokberk provided a crucial spark off the bench with five points and five rebounds in 16 minutes as the Blues won the battle on the glass 36-30 and turned 23 Bearcat turnovers into 12 points.

Whitman shot 50.9 percent from the field and an efficient 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) from three, posting a 62 percent effective field-goal mark while holding Willamette to 44.4 percent overall and 35.5 percent from deep.

Whitman closes out the weekend at Pacific on Saturday night at 5:00 p.m.

#GoWhitman

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