WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The Walla Walla Men's Basketball team went into halftime with NCAA Division III opponent Whitman tied, but it was the Blues that earned an 86-76 non-conference victory on Saturday.
The Wolves (0-8) were led by Jordan Jackson who finished the night with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Jackson had four 3-pointers and had a team high seven rebounds and three steals.
Soren Dalan had 15 points on a near perfect shooting night. Zeke Virtudes had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists and Reese Snellman finished with 13 points and four assists.
Whitman (4-5) shot 57.7% from the field in the second half to pull away late. The Blues were led by Ken Higgins who had 19 points and three steals. Jacob Fotu had 18 points and Milos Sarenac finished with a double-double with 14 points and 14 boards.
Neither team was able to gain control in the first half as there were eight lead changes and the score was tied 12 separate times. The largest lead for either team was four. Walla Walla jumped out to a 4-0 lead and a Bernard Dzesi jumper for the Blues gave Whitman a 35-31 advantage with 3:32 left in the half. The Wolves shot 58.6% in the first half including 13-of-18 from inside the arc.
Sarenac scored on the opening possession of the second half for the Blues. Jackson responded with a layup inside before Marcel Elicagaray gave the home team the lead for good with a 3-pointer. Whitman extended the gap to 10 with 12:59 left in the game and Walla Walla was unable to get closer than nine points the rest of the contest.
UP NEXT
The Wolves return to Cascade Conference play against No. 10 Lewis-Clark State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Stay up to date with all things Wolves Athletics at uwolves.com and on social media @theuwolves.