WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The Walla Walla Men's Basketball team trailed by as much as 10 points in the second half, but rallied to an 85-81 nonconference victory over NCAA Division III opponent Whitman on Sunday at Windemuth Court.
Sophomore Soren Dalan set a career-high with 26 points. Dalan pulled in 11 rebounds, dished out three assists and went 14-of-19 from the free throw line.
Walla Walla improved to 2-8 with the victory.
"We've been doing some soul searching to solidify our identity," Walla Walla coach Brandon Broome said. "Progress is being made and things are coming together. Feels good to get a win."
Andrew Vaughan scored all 19 of his points in the second half and pulled in two steals. Almonds Sebirokwa added 13 points and Kekoa Beard finished with 12.
The Wolves shot 27-of-37 (73%) from the free throw line and outrebounded the Blues 42-32. Walla Walla shot 27-of-53 (50.9%) from the field and held Whitman to 7-of-30 (23.3%) from the 3-point line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Dalan hit a jumper off an assist by Vaughan to get the scoring started for Walla Walla. Sebirokwa added a layup and Dillon Wasser made a basket inside the paint and the Wolves led 6-0 in the first two minutes.
After a Whitman basket by Ali Efe Isik, Thomas Mestrov, Sebirokwa and Dalan made jumpers. Sebirokwa added two free throws to give WWU a 14-2 lead. The Wolves pushed the lead to as high as 13 points.
With 4:36 remaining in the first half Walla Walla held onto a 10-point advantage, but the Blues did not go away quietly. Whitman scored eight straight before Dalan stalled the run with a pair of free throws. The Blues hit a pair of free throws of their own and Isik and Alex Pape created chaos defensively and both had a steal and score, and Whitman had its first lead 42-40 with 1:47 left in the first half. The Blues pushed the lead to six, 46-40, when the teams hit halftime.
Whitman did not slow down in the second half and scored the first four points. Vaughan scored his first points of the game with a 3-pointer to end the run. WWU trailed by 10 with 11:07 remaining when Beard started a Wolves run with a layup. Vaughan connected with a 3-pointer and a layup and cut the Blues lead to three. One minute later Dalan converted on an old-fashioned three-point play and the game was tied at 61 with under nine minutes remaining.
Dalan hit four of his next five free throws and added a layup to go on a personal 9-0 run. Vaughan made a layup and pushed the lead to nine with four minutes to go.
The Blues cut the lead to three points, but a free throw by Mestrov with four seconds to go sealed the victory for Walla Walla.
UP NEXT
The Wolves will travel to Portland, Ore. to face the Vikings of Portland State in an exhibition game at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31.