The Missionaries gained their first lead of the contest four minutes in, as senior post player Kyle Dalvit knocked down a jumper for a 10-9 lead. Just two minutes later, Nick Parker knocked down a three to give Whitman its biggest - and last - lead of the night, at 18-16. The Loggers rolled off ten straight points over the next 1:58, staking an eight-point lead. The Missionaries battled back, though, trimming the lead to 29-28 with 8:01 to play in the first half. With just over four minutes to play and Whitman down by five, however, Puget Sound went on another run, scoring 12 of the next fourteen points to take a 51-36 lead. The Whitman defense held the Loggers to 37.3 percent shooting in the first half, but had 20 fewer attempts as they went into the break down 52-41. The Missionaries hit half of their 30 shots, but were just four of 14 from long range.
Dalvit hit his opening shot of the second half to cut the lead to nine points, but that was as close as Whitman would come. The Loggers refused to be slowed down as they extended their lead to as many as 23 points in the half and cruised to a 104-84 victory.
Dalvit and senior guard Greg Caldwell each had 14 points on the night for Whitman. Dalvit was a perfect five for five from the floor and knocked down four of five free- throws. Caldwell hit four shots from behind the arc, and grabbed eight rebounds. Cale Will and Casey Nelson also scored in double figures for the Missionaries, with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Point-guard Greg Ricker scored nine points while dishing out a team-high ten assists.
Whitman outrebounded the Loggers 51-40 on the night, but turned the ball over 31 times during the contest.
The Missionaries will try to come away with a weekend split as they battle Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma, Wash. on Saturday.
Whitman vs Puget Sound 01/16/04 8:00pm at Tacoma, Wash. At Tacoma, Wash. PUGET SOUND 104, WHITMAN 84 WHITMAN (5-7, 1-2 NWC) Dalvit, Kyle 5-5 4-5 14; Caldwell, Greg 4-15 2-2 14; Will, Cale 5-13 0-0 13; Nelson, Casey 5-8 2-4 12; Ricker, Greg 3-4 3-4 9; Kofler, Erik 4-4 0-0 8; Parker, Nick 2-6 0-0 5; Pounds, Jacob 2-6 0-0 4; Airy, Matt 2-6 0-0 4; Warner, Ian 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 32-68 12-17 84. PUGET SOUND (11-1,3-0 NWC) McVey, Zack 6-9 4-5 16; Medved, Curtis 5-14 0-0 15; Shelton, Aubrey 4-8 4-5 14; Glynn, Matt 5-12 0-0 12; Cross, Jeremy 5-10 1-2 12; O'Donnell, Chris 4-8 3-4 11; Buehler, Vincent 3-5 3-3 11; Curtiss, Chase 3-12 0-0 8; Walker, Josh 1-3 3-4 5; Chang, Stephen 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 36-84 18-23 104. Whitman....................... 41 43 - 84 Puget Sound................... 52 52 - 104 3-point goals-Whitman 8-28 (Caldwell, Greg 4-10; Will, Cale 3-9; Parker, Nick 1-4; Pounds, Jacob 0-2; Airy, Matt 0-2; Nelson, Casey 0-1), Puget Sound 14-36 (Medved, Curtis 5-11; Buehler, Vincent 2-2; Glynn, Matt 2-4; Curtiss, Chase 2-10; Shelton, Aubrey 2-4; Cross, Jeremy 1-2; Chang, Stephen 0-2; Walker, Josh 0-1). Fouled out--Whitman-None, Puget Sound-None. Rebounds-Whitman 51 (Caldwell, Greg 8; Pounds, Jacob 8), Puget Sound 40 (O'Donnell, Chris 8). Assists-Whitman 22 (Ricker, Greg 10), Puget Sound 27 (Medved, Curtis 6). Total fouls-Whitman 19, Puget Sound 20. A-485