Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Despite both teams playing their third game in as many days, Willamette University and Whitman College both shot well on Sunday, Feb. 6, but the Blues hit 66.7% of their field goals in the first half (22 of 33) and finished at 56.1% overall (37 of 66), on the way to a 99-83 win over the Bearcats at Cone Field House. Willamette shot 46.2% for the game (30 of 65), including 50.0% in the second half (17 of 34). The Bearcats were led by Cedric Coward with 27 points and 13 rebounds.
Coward now has earned 15 double-doubles this season. On Sunday, he was 11 of 17 from the field with one 3-point basket. He added a 4-for-5 effort at the free throw line. He also registered three assists and two steals.
For the season, Coward is averaging a team-high 18.3 points per game to rank fourth in the Northwest Conference. He leads the NWC with 12.1 rebounds per contest and holds a margin of 4.7 boards per game over Jack Henderson of Lewis & Clark College in second.
Whitman improved to 9-11 overall, 7-5 in the NWC. Willamette slipped to 6-14 on the season, 3-9 in the NWC.
Joining Coward in double digits for the Bearcats against Whitman was Daniel Plumer (Jr., PG, North Las Vegas, NV/Democracy Preparatory Academy) with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Plumer grabbed four rebounds and matched Coward with 4-for-5 free throw shooting, three assists, and two steals. Jack Boydell (Jr., F, Sonoma, CA/Sonoma Valley HS) provided WU with six points, three assists, and a blocked shot.
Although the Blues shot 66.7% over the first 20 minutes, they cooled down to 45.5% (15 of 33) in the second half. Whitman was 16 of 32 on 3-pointers during her game, while the Bearcats went 8 of 22 (36.4%) on long-range shots. Willamette achieved a 34-31 lead on the glass, including 16 offensive boards.
Nikola Trifunovic scored 21 points to lead the Blues. He made 8 of 12 field goals and was 3 for 6 from behind the 3-point arc. Xzavier Lino provided Whitman with 20 points, as he connected on 8 of 13 field goals, including 4 for 7 from 3-point range. Walter Lum tacked on 18 points. Trifunovic and Lum tied for the team-high with seven rebounds. Jai Deshpande and Weston Crump each supplied 12 points, while Grant Hunt topped the Blues with seven assists.
Willamette held a 12-10 edge with 16:34 left in the first half after Plumer sank a 3-pointer. The Blues replied with an 11-0 run that started with 3-pointers by Deshpande, Lino, and Crump, and ended with a driving layup by Trifunovic. WU scored next on a layup from Coward to pull within 21-14, but Whitman gradually built the lead, which reached 36-26 on a 3-pointer by Trifunovic with 9:54 on the clock. The Blues went into the halftime break with a 59-34 advantage.
Lino tallied 15 points for the Blues in the first half, while Crump provided 10 points. The Blues made 11 of 17 three-point shots (64.7%) over the opening 20 minutes. Plumer scored 10 points during the first half for Willamette.
Coward opened the second half with a 3-pointer and a layup to move the Bearcats within 59-39 at the 18:23 mark, but the Blues continued to shoot well and maintained a lead of at least 20 points over the next nine minutes. A pair of free throws by Coward cut the margin to 82-63 with 8:44 to go.
A bit later, the Blues held a 20-point lead at 87-67 after a jump shot by Lino with 5:53 left. The Bearcats gradually reduced the deficit, pulling a close as 91-76 on a 3-pointer by Plumer with 3:15 to play.
Willamette is slated to take on Lewis & Clark on Friday, Feb. 11 in Portland, Oregon. Game time at the Pamplin Sports Center is scheduled for 8 p.m. (PST).
