Puget Sound PS 13-5,6-3 NWC

Whitman Whitm 14-4,7-2 NWC

Puget Sound PS

13-5,6-3 NWC

Final

Jan. 27, 2023

Whitman Whitm

14-4,7-2 NWC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Puget Sound PS	34	49	83
Whitman Whitm	43	36	79

Summary
Box Score

Tebers Photos

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/27/2023 10:59:00 PM

Men's Basketball Upended By Puget Sound

WALLA WALLA, Wash. - The Blues featured five players in double figures led by Murphy Caffo's team-high 12 points, but it wasn't enough as the Whitman College men's basketball team fell 83-79 to the University of Puget Sound on Friday night at the Sherwood Center.

Ali Efe Isik flirted with a double double with nine points and seven rebounds, and Jander Cline and Jai Deshpande posted 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.

Dezman Baker recorded a team-high 14 points off the bench for the Loggers (13-5, 6-3 NWC) with Taj Phillips adding 13 points and five assists.

The Blues (14-4, 7-2 NWC) came out swinging as Walter Lum drained a corner three to open the game and scored at the hoop to put his team up 7-2 early in the game. The Loggers responded as Drew Gillette hit back-to-back buckets to put UPS up 11-10 with 15:01 to play. The game remained close and the Blues pulled back out in front off baskets from Cline and again from Lum. The pair teamed up with Efe Isik for a 10-0 Whitman run and gave the Blues a 22-15 with 9:53 remaining.

Cline kept his hot hand and scored in the paint to keep his team's lead at seven points with just over seven minutes to play in the first half. The three pointers then began to fall as Deshpande and Xzavier Lino hit from distance as the lead ballooned to 15 points. The Loggers didn't let the game slip away however and returned the deficit to single digits by the break.

The Blues pushed the lead back up to 12 points early in the second half on a Grant Hunt three pointer. Caffo later hit from the floor and Hunt sank a pair of free throws to put Whitman up 54-42 with 15:42 to play. UPS then slowly began to chip away but it was Weston Crump off the bench who hit a key three pointer to swing the momentum back to the home side.

The Loggers whittled the lead to three points but Hunt again hit from three to push the lead back up. Down the stretch, though, it were several key buckets and costly Whitman turnovers that gave UPS the lead. Nikola Trifunovic hit a late three pointer to cut the lead to one with 40 seconds to play, but the Loggers held on for the victory.

The Blues close out the weekend with a Saturday contest against Pacific Lutheran. Tipoff at the Sherwood Center is set for 6:00 p.m.

#GoWhitman

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