D'Marqueyon Whittington took advantage of his first career start and had a career-high of 28 points for the Spartans in a 77-67 conference road win at Ellsworth Community College on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. 

Whittington had six three-pointers and 22 points in the opening half as Southwestern took a 45-30 lead into the break. He started in place of Alijah Thomas who missed the game with a minor injury and is expected back in action on Wednesday against DMACC.

The win improved the #7 NJCAA DII Spartans record to 15-4 overall and 2-1 in ICCAC action. 

"Pooter (Whittington) can really shoot the ball," said Spartan Head Coach Todd Lorensen. "He did a great job of finding looks and his teammates sensed his hot hand and found him."

Two Spartans contributed double-doubles in points and rebounds. Chad Moran had 15 points and 10 rebounds while Terence Shelby had 11 points and 15 rebounds. Gatdoar Kueth just missed a double-double of his own with nine points and eight rebounds in limited minutes due to foul trouble.

"Anytime you have a couple of players in double-digit rebounds, that's huge," explained Lorensen. "Generally we are the smaller team, so our guards ability to rebound is very important and that's something Terence has done consistently."

Southwestern returns to their home court on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018, at 7:30 p.m., with an ICCAC match up against DMACC, who is ranked #10 in NJCAA DII with a record of 14-4 and 1-1 in ICCAC play.

"Our league is extremely balanced from top to bottom," stated Lorensen. "It will be extremely important for teams to protect their home courts."