Box Score PASADENA, Calif. – Forrest Baker came off of the bench for a career-high 21 points to lead Whitworth to a 76-48 win at Caltech in a non-conference men's basketball game on Saturday night.
The Pirates improved to 3-2 this season while the Beavers fell to 0-5. However, none of Caltech's previous four losses had been by more than nine points.
It didn't take Whitworth very long to open a double-digit lead. George Valle and Christian Jurlina hit three-point shots and Taylor Farnsworth converted a three-point play during an 11-0 run that gave the Bucs a 15-4 lead less than four minutes into the game. Lawrence Lee capped a Caltech rally with a pair of free throws that pulled the Beavers to within 18-12.
Then Baker went to work. He personally scored Whitworth's next eight points during an 11-2 run that gave the Bucs a 29-14 lead. Whitworth eventually went to halftime ahead 40-24 after making 17 of 25 shots (68%) in the opening period.
Christian Jurlina's free throws gave Whitworth a 46-25 lead early in the second half and the Pirates continued to stretch the lead. Josh Thayer drained a three-pointer and Baker followed by making one of two free throws to extend the Bucs margin to 63-34 with 8:28 to play. The lead was never less than 24 points the rest of the way, even as head coach Matt Logie cleared the bench.
Baker was 9-14 from the field, including 2-5 from three-point range. Farnsworth finished with a season-high 17 points as the only other Pirate in double figures. Jurlina led the way with five rebounds as Whitworth finished with a 36-24 edge on the boards. Kenny Love didn't score, but dished six assists and Whitworth had 20 assists in the game.
Whitworth hit 53% (9-17) of its three-point attempts. The Pirates were also above 50% from three-point range against Redlands on the day before Thanksgiving and finished the week 21-40 from beyond the arc.
No Caltech player hit double figures. Andrew Hogue had nine points and Lee scored eight. The Beavers made only 36% (18-50) of their shots from the field, including only 10% (2-20) from three-point range.
Whitworth will play a game against Pirate Alumni on December 6th, but the Bucs don't play another official game until December 16th at Southwestern (Texas).
