The Whitman men’s basketball team went 1-1 this weekend, losing its first game against the Pioneers of Lewis and Clark 68-62 on Friday, Jan. 29, before smashing conference cellar-dwellers Willamette University 103-82 Saturday, Jan. 30.
The Missionaries have six games remaining this season. Considering all six are against conference opponents, Whitman will need more offensive explosions like Saturday in the coming weeks, rather than a repeat of the drawn out brick-fest that was Friday’s game.
While Whitman was able to end its five game losing streak against the overmatched Bearcats, the Missionaries struggled offensively against Lewis and Clark, posting their lowest point total of the season up to this point. First-year LaQuam Thompson tossed in 19 points versus the 6-12 Pioneers, going three of six from behind the arc. However, the rest of the Missionaries were unable to match his production, combining to make only six of their 29 attempts from three-point land.
Lewis and Clark was able to capitalize on the poor offensive execution of the Missionaries with a balanced attack that allowed four of its players to break double figures. They were led by senior guard Josh Kollasch with 17. The game remained close until the beginning of the second half, when the Pioneers went on a 14-4 run, extending their seven-point half time lead to 17.
Whitman was able to bring the game within a manageable distance thanks to clutch shots down the stretch from senior Jordan Wheeler, junior Justin Artis and Thompson. It looked as though Thompson’s one-man offense: he scored 10 straight Whitman points late in the second half: might be able to steal the home team a win, but the clock proved to be the Missionaries’ real enemy as Lewis and Clark made their free throws to preserve the win.
After the loss on Friday, Whitman sorely needed to break out of the five-game losing streak that had been dragging them towards the bottom of the Northwest Conference standings. Luckily the Missionary men were able to do just that against the 4-15 Willamette Bearcats on Saturday.
Everything that went wrong against Lewis and Clark seemed to fall into place for Whitman against the Bearcats. In the same arena where Whitman just one day earlier couldn’t buy a trey, the team sunk jump shots like layups. Peter Clark, a 6’4” sharp shooting first-year who missed eight of his 10 threes against Lewis and Clark, poured in six long bombs against Willamette, while sophomore Brandon Shaw led the Missionaries with 25 points, 14 of which came from the free-throw line.
“The Willamette game was a must win not only because we needed to protect home court, but also because we needed it to continue to be in the hunt for a playoff spot,” said Clark, who leads the Northwest Conference in three-point shots attempted per game.
Whitman shot 39 percent from three-point range and 46 percent for the game, continuing to prove their offensive dominance and pushing their already conference leading points per game to 85.5, but it was Coach Bridgeland’s swarming press defense that really prevented Willamette from keeping the score close.
“We were very happy to have the consistent effort from beginning to end versus Willamette,” said Bridgeland. “We struggled with this versus Lewis and Clark.”
The Bearcats were unable to maintain possession throughout the game, finishing with an astonishing 27 turnovers. The Bearcats’ 6’7” senior post player Cameron Mitchell, leading scorer and rebounder in the Northwest Conference, was the only visiting player who was able to exploit Whitman’s lack of interior size, leading Willamette with 28 points and 11 rebounds. The Bearcats left the game with a 1-9 conference record occupying last place in the Northwest conference. Their next opponent will be Bridgeland’s old team, the University of Puget Sound on Feb. 5.
The Whitman men will try to prove that Saturday’s game symbolizes a new swing in momentum during this coming weekend’s games at George Fox University and Pacific University on Friday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 6, respectively. The game against George Fox, which sits above Whitman at third in the Northwest Conference standings, will be especially important for the Missionaries post-season hopes.
