WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Joey Hewitt led five players in double figures, scoring a team-high 15 points to lift the Whitman College men's basketball team to a resounding 104-59 win over Willamette in Northwest Conference action Saturday night at the Sherwood Center.
Jack Stewart added 14 points on 4-8 shooting from beyond the arc with Cedric Jacobs-Jones adding 12 points and grabbing four rebounds.
Jordan Jenkins had a monster performance for the Bearcats who fell to 0-6 overall and 0-2 in Northwest Conference play. Jenkins delivered a double double with game highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds to go along with five assists.
The first half saw the teams trade baskets early before a 9-0 run capped by a Trevor Osborne bucket put the Blues up 18-7. Whitman aimed to widen its gap but some sloppy play allowed the Bearcats into the game temporarily. After a Jonathan Watts layup, Darne Duckett shortarmed a cross court pass which led to a Micah Fleming three pointer and just an 18-13 Whitman lead.
The Blues (5-1, 2-0 NWC) righted the ship quickly. Michael Gutierrez and Jase Harrison connected on consecutive three pointers to build the lead to double digits. The play was a bit sloppy from the Blues but they were nevertheless able to extend the lead. Hot shooting from Gutierrez and a sweeping layup from Robert Colton gave Whitman a 41-21 lead with 3:37 to play until halftime. The Bearcats shaved into the lead just a tad but strong defense led to easy buckets down the stretch and the Blues carried a 19 point cushion into the break.
Whitman broke the game wide open early in the second half. Stewart opened the period with back-to-back three pointers with Hewitt adding a layup to push the lead to 57-31 less than three minutes into the half. The lead swelled to what would be the largest of the game to that point when a layup from Jacobs-Jones and another three ball from Stewart lifted the advantage to 70-35 with 12:32 to play.
The onslaught continued until around the five minute mark. Pressure defense from Butler led to fast break points by his teammates as the lead swelled to 40 before the Blues emptied their bench.
Whitman next takes the court on Saturday for exhibition action against Eastern Oregon. Tipoff at the Sherwood Center is set for 6:00 p.m.