WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Jaron Kirkley led a well-balanced Blues effort with 16 points, Trevor Osborne added 14 more and the Whitman College men's basketball team took another step closer to a Northwest Conference title with a 91-88 Senior Night win over Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday night at the Sherwood Center.

The win keeps the Blues (18-5, 13-1 NWC) even with Whitworth in the league standings as the two teams are set to square off on Tuesday at the Sherwood Center. A win would clinch a share of the regular season title for the Blues.

Conference play has been a grind and this game was no different. Whitman led by as many as 15 points midway through the second half but saw the Boxers claw their way back and make it a one-possession game in the final minutes. Whitman clamped down on defense late in the game highlighted by an Andrew Vickers block inside of three minutes of a three-point game, and the Blues held on for the win.

Though it wasn't pretty for all 40 minutes, Whitman won in true Whitman fashion. The Blues were plus-11 in points off turnovers and doubled up the Boxers in fastbreak points (22-11). Robert Colton contributed 13 points and six rebounds with Weston Crump adding 10 points off the bench.

Nick Drynan provided the offense for Pacific, scoring a game-high 26 points including 6-7 in three pointers. Andy Isokpehi added 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds.

The Blues and Boxers played an even battle early in the first half. Terrance Gilder's layup put Pacific up three but Crump drained a three pointer to even the score at 11-11 with 16:07 to play. Later, a pair of Terrance Gilder three-pointers helped the Boxers keep a four-point lead, but the Blues rallied and grabbed the lead back after three pointers from Vickers and Osborne.

Whitman began to establish control in the later stages of the half. Brian Warriner began to make his presence felt on both ends of the court, hitting a pair of buckets to help push the lead to seven points. Whitman closed the half on a 16-2 run and took a 48-34 lead into the break.

The Blues kept the pressure on in the second half, leading by as many as 17 points off a Crump jumper just outside of 16 minutes to play. The Boxers began to chip away though and shaved the lead to single digits on Drynan's jumper with 9:18 to play. Timely free throws and clutch defense down the stretch though kept the Boxers at arms length and the Blues kept their championship hopes alive.

Whitman plays its regular season finale this Tuesday, Feb. 18 against NWC rival Whitworth. Tipoff at the Sherwood Center is set for 8:00 p.m.