WALLA WALLA, Wash. – All-America guard Tim Howell scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and the top-ranked Whitman Blues rolled to a 100-69 victory over the Linfield Wildcats in the Northwest Conference regular-season finale Saturday night at Sherwood Center.
 
Playing on the road for the sixth time in their last seven games, the Wildcats hit the proverbial wall against the high-energy Blues, whose style of play resulted in 20 Linfield turnovers.
 
"We were not very good tonight and Whitman played great," Linfield coach Shanan Rosenberg said afterward. "Even when we had good possessions, the ball rarely went our way."
 
What it means
As the regular-season champion, Whitman (25-0, 16-0 NWC) secured the top seed in the Northwest Conference playoff tournament. Linfield's loss to Whitman, coupled with Puget Sounds' win over Lewis & Clark, dropped the Wildcats to fourth place in the final NWC standings.
 
Whitman will host Linfield (16-8, 10-6 NWC) Thursday night at Sherwood Center in the semifinals of the four-team conference playoff. Semifinal winners play Saturday with the the champion of the NWC's annual playoff tourney earning the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs.
 
"The good news is we get keep playing," said Rosenberg. "I look forward to seeing how our group responds to this adversity."
 
 'Cat stats
Liam O'Reilly finished as the team's top scorer with 17 points, adding six rebounds. Austin Hilton hit 5 of 7 shots from close range on his way to 11 points, five rebounds and two steals.
 
Dempsey Roggenbuck, Linfield's season scorer leader, was confined to eight points on 2 of 9 shooting.
 
"Liam had great showing on this trip. Austin Hilton did some great things as well. I'm hopeful our whole group will follow (in the postseason)," Rosenberg said.
 
Whitman by the numbers
In addition to his game-best 22 points, Howell added four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Darne Duckett added 20 points and Trevor Osborne had 13. Joey Hewitt scored 11 and Cedric Jacobs-Jones reached 10 points.
 
1st Half
Whitman accounted for the game's first 10 points over the opening 5:46 before Linfield eventually sliced the margin to four, 19-15, following Max Lommen's two free throws at the 9:29 mark.Duckett nailed a three-pointer 3 1/2 minutes later to push the hosts' lead was back to 11 points, 31-20. The Blues continued undaunted, reaching a 20-point bulge after Howell swished a three with 3:20 left in the half. Whitman led 53-31 at the intermission.
 
Howell sank 6 of 13 shots from the floor in the opening half. Osborne made 4 of 6 attempts on his way to 11 first-half points. Hilton topped Linfield in scoring with seven points in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Whitman shot 51 percent while Linfield hit for 38 percent.
 
2nd Half
The Blues opened the half with a dunk by Ben Beatie as Whitman's point-a-minute pace continued. 
 
Whitman never trailed by fewer than 19 points in the second stanza. The margin reached as many as 34 in the late going.
 
"I was pleased that we kept fighting despite very tough conditions," said Rosenberg. 
 
Next
Linfield plays Thursday at Whitman or Whitworth, pending the outcome of Saturday's Puget Sound/Lewis & Clark game.