WALLA WALLA, Wash. -  Austin Butler scored a game-high 17 points, Jack Stewart added 12 more and the No. 4 Whitman College men's basketball team rolled to a 97-61 win over Sul Ross State Friday at the Sherwood Athletic Center in the Courtyard Marriott Tipoff.

Joey Hewitt added 10 points with Butler hauling in six rebounds to add to his hot-shooting night for the Blues (2-0).

Tristen Licon and Stephen Walker shared game-high honors for Sul Ross in points, each with 15. Walker also added a game-high seven rebounds for the Lobos who dropped their season opener with the loss.

The game started off auspiciously for the Lobos who opened with a 7-2 spurt. Jola Otubu opened the game with a three ball and layups from Cole Avery and Walker helped Sul Ross to the early lead.

The Blues worked themselves into the game quickly then took a tight first half contest and blew it open with a 16-2 run midway through the period. Butler's layup and Osborne's three pointer put the Blues up 44-28 with 3:41 to play in the first half.

The game would slow down a bit before the break, but it was Robert Colton whose tough play in the offensive paint kept the Blues with a sizeable 54-35 lead heading to halftime.

The second half saw the lead swell to as many as 35 points. Butler's dunk followed by a hard earned bucket from Cedric Jacobs-Jones pushed the lead to 27. Jase Harrison then went on a tear, sandwiching a pair of three pointers around a steal and a layup to give the Blues an 82-47 lead.

The Blues close the Courtyard Marriott Tipoff on Saturday with a 6:00 p.m. contests versus Concordia-Texas.