CLAREMONT, Calif. - Darne Duckett scored a team and season-high 20 points off the bench, Joey Hewitt added 15 points and seven rebounds and the Whitman College men's basketball team took down Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in its first road game of the season, an 84-75 defeat of the Stags Friday night in the David Wells Classic at Roberts Pavilion.

The two teams produced a pair of classics in each of the past two NCAA Tournaments, both second round home wins by the Blues. Tonight would not be as close as the Blues (4-0, 0-0 NWC) led most of the way, often by double digits, to take care of CMS (1-2, 0-0 SCIAC). Austin Butler handed out a game-high seven assists and scored 12 points including a first-half dunk to put Whitman up for good. 

Nicolas Dobjanschi led all scorers with 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds for the Mustangs who were engaged in a tight contest in the first half until a 7-0 Blues run put some distance in between the two teams. Whitman shot a stellar 84% from the free throw line with Hewitt and Butler's perfect performance at the charity stripe helping the Blues to a 46-36 halftime lead.

Whitman's lead had grown to 13 in the first half but the Stags came out of the break with a 6-0 run finished by a Jeremy Horn dunk. It would take almost four minutes for the Blues to score their first basket of the period, an and-one layup from Ben Beatie to put Whitman up 51-46. The Blues would sustain the momentum and go on a 9-1 run to take a 62-49 lead with 12:22 to play. 

The advantage would swell to as many as 14 points with the Blues never letting the lead get under double digits with 13:09 remaining until George Walker's layup just before the final buzzer made the differential nine points.

Horn finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for CMS.

The Classic continues on Saturday when the Blues square off with Pomona-Pitzer at 7:00 p.m.