Box Score

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Pacific put together their most balanced scoring attach of the season Friday, allowing the Boxers to keep things close in a 78-69 loss to Whitman in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Sherwood Center.
 
Jordan Batey (Jr., San Antonio, Texas) led six Pacific players to score in double figures with 13 points.  The Boxers finished the night shooting 46.8 percent from the field (22-47) and a season-high 94.1 percent from the free throw line (16-17).
 
Whitman, however, scored the win by converting 21 turnovers in 31 points.  The Missionaries finished the night shooting 43.3 percent from the field (26-60) and 72 percent from three throw line (18-25).
 
Landon Littlefield (So., Henderson, Nev.) added 12 points while Mitch Wettig (Jr., Bend, Ore.) had his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Daniel Zitani (Sr., Oakland, Calif.) scored 11 points while Budweiser Hawkins (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev.) and Eric Moore (Sr., Salem, Ore.) each scored 10.
 
Tochi Oti led Whitman with 22 points.  Ben Eisenhardt scored 17 and Matt Mounier added 14 points.
 
With the loss, Pacific fell to 11-7, 4-5 NWC.  Whitman improved to 12-6, 7-2 NWC.
 
Whitman used their fast style of play to open up a 21-12 lead on LuQuam Thompson's free throw at the 9:46 mark.  The lead became 14 points on Eisenhardt's lay-in with 4:48 to go.  Moore hit a lay-in on the Boxers' next possession, igniting a 14-2 run to close the period.  Moore had six points in the run and Batey closed it with two free throws to bring the Boxers within 34-32 at the half.
 
Pacific kept the game close over the first few minutes of the second half.  The Whitman advantage was 42-39 when the Missionaries went on a 9-0 over the next two minutes, going up 51-39 on Oti's three-pointer with 13:45 left.  Whitman eventually built up to their largest lead of 16 points when Evan Martin's lay-in put the Missionaries ahead 66-50.
 
The Boxers would not go quietly, cutting the lead to six on Littlefield's three-pointer with 1:25 left.  Pacific made just one more shot, though, as Whitman went 4 of 4 from the free throw line to score the win.
 
Pacific finishes their two-game eastern Washington road trip on Saturday, playing at Whitworth at 6 p.m.  A live audio webcast will be available at GoBoxers.com.