Box Score SPOKANE, Wash. – Visiting St. Thomas made eight of its first nine three-point attempts to surge to an early lead then pulled away late in a 90-69 win over Whitworth in a non-conference men's basketball game on Saturday night at the Fieldhouse.
It is not often that a team makes 59% of its shots from the field and loses by more than 20 points, but that happened to the 17th-ranked Pirates (1-2) in this game.
The Tommies (3-0, ranked 13th) simply could not miss shots for long stretches of the game. They finished the game 31-48 (64.6%) from the field, including 11-14 (78.6%) from three-point range. They also killed the Pirates at the free throw line by making 17-19 (89.5%).
"If there are twelve Division III teams better than St. Thomas in the country, I'd love to see them," said Pirate head coach Matt Logie. "They played at a national championship level tonight."
Taylor Farnsworth scored inside to give Whitworth a 4-3 lead. It would be the Pirates' last. Taylor Montero followed with a three-pointer, setting a tone that would carry throughout the first half. By the time Marcus Alipate hit his third three-pointer of the opening half, the Tommies had taken their first double-digit lead (26-16). Another three by Cortez Tillman stretched the advantage to 34-19.
Whitworth got back within 34-25 on a basket by Christian Jurlina and the Pirates went to halftime down 45-35 after a jumper by Forrest Baker.
Whitworth used a 9-4 run to get back within five points early in the second half, pulling within 49-44 on a Baker three-pointer. But Conner Nord answered with a basket in the paint and St. Thomas began to pull away. Cortez Tillman was fouled while making a three-pointer and hit the free throw for a four-point play that stretched the lead to 65-49. Jurlina's jumper pulled the Pirates back within 68-56, but that was as close as they would get. UST used a 12-2 run to put the game away.
Four Pirates hit double figures in scoring, led by Matt Staudacher's 13 points. Kionte Brown had 11 and Jurlina and George Valle each scored ten. Jurlina led the Pirates with seven rebounds and Valle dished five assists. Whitworth made 29 of 49 shots and was 9-14 from the free throw line. They made 2-4 from long range.
Montero led the Tommies with 20 points and six rebounds. Grant Shaeffer added 17 points and seven assists. Tillman had 15 points off of the bench, while Alipate scored 14 (12 in the first half). Ryan Saarela (12 points) gave UST five players in double figures. The Tommies finished with a slight edge (24-20) on the boards.
Whitworth returns to action next Wednesday at the University of Redlands (Calif.).
