Boxers Struggle Against Up-Tempo Whitman
Box Score
WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman's high powered dribble-drive offense and their stifling defense proved too much for a small Pacific squad Saturday as the Missionaries rolled to a 94-65 victory over the Boxers in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Sherwood Center.
The Missionaries (11-6, 4-4 NWC) shot well from every part of the floor, connecting on 50 percent from the field (31-62), 40.7 percent from three-point range (11-27) and 21 of 27 from the free throw line. Whitman broke Pacific's spirit early, building as much as a 33-point lead late in the first half.
LeMar Anglin (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) performed well in the paint, leading the Boxers with 18 points and nine rebounds on 5 of 11 from the field and 8 of 12 from the free throw line. Adam McElwee (So., Woodinville, Wash.) came off the bench to score 15, which included four three-pointers. Andrew Beatty (Jr., Lynnwood, Wash.) finished with 10. Pacific (3-14, 2-6 NWC) shot 42.3 percent from the field (22-52).
Peter Clark came off the bench to lead Whitman with 21 points, connecting on 7 of 12 from the field and 6 of 10 from three-point range. Josh Duckworth and Ignas Pavilonis each scored 10. Whitman out-rebounded the Boxers 36-31, which included 16 offensive boards, and forced 22 Pacific turnovers. Al but one Whitman player scored a basket.
Pacific could not get any offense going in the first half against the stifling defense, being limited to 26.9 percent from the field and two field goals in the first 10 minutes. After battling to a 4-4 tie in the first two minutes, the Missionaries ran away on a 14-0 run over the next seven minutes, culminating on a Duckworth jumper that put the Missionaries up 18-4. Cameron Hayes (Fr., Milton, Wash.) broke the run with his lay-in at the 12:48 mark, but Whitman went on outscore Pacific 15-3 over the nest four minutes, taking a commanding 33-7 lead with 6:46 to go.
While Pacific finally found some fastbreak points, most notably by Anglin, the Missionaries continued to come at the Boxers on all cylinders. A pair of Duckworth free throws gave the Missionaries a 45-14 lead at the 2:37 mark and Clark's free throw with 1:32 left gave Whitman their biggest lead of 33 points at 49-16. A McElwee three-pointer and three points from Anglin down the stretch allowed the Boxers to close the deficit to 49-22 at the half.
With the sizable cushion, Whitman moved from a fast-paced game to a half court style of play. That allowed the Boxers to put together some steady scoring, but not enough to make a challenge. Anglin managed to cut the deficit to 24 points with a pair of free throws at the 16:15 mark.
The Whitman lead was back to 28 points with 11:44 to go when the Boxers went on a 7-0 spurt, ending on another three by McElwee to bring the Boxers with 21 points with 11:15 left. That's as close as the Boxers would get as the Missionaries used their solid three-point shooting to run the lead back up to 28 points two more times down the stretch.
With the first half of the conference season in the books, the Boxers will enjoy three straight games at the Stoller Center. The Boxers will host Puget Sound on Friday and Pacific Lutheran on Saturday, with tip-off both nights at 8 p.m.
