SPOKANE, Wash. – Christian Jurlina and Taylor Farnsworth led Whitworth to a 78-72 win over visiting Puget Sound in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Friday night.

The Pirates (14-2 overall, 7-0 NWC) and Loggers (8-6, 3-3) have met in the title game of the NWC tournament two of the last three seasons.

After trailing by as many as six points in the first half and by 33-29 at halftime, Whitworth controlled the second half by making 54.5% of its shots from the floor and holding Puget Sound to 40% after halftime.  Jurlina scored 11 of his game-high 20 points after the break. 

"Our guys really responded in the second half tonight." said head coach Matt Logie. "Farnsworth and Jurlina stepped up in a big big way to really rally us. I'm proud of our guys for responding to a great effort by UPS in the way they did."

After the teams traded leads eight times over the first seven minutes of the first half, UPS used a quick 6-0 run to take a 15-10 advantage on a three-pointer by Matt Bender.  The Loggers stretched their lead to 33-27 on Kohl Meyer's three-pointer late in the half, the visitor's largest margin of the game.  Kenny Love made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to pull Whitworth within 33-29 at halftime.  The Bucs were only able to stay close because of Farnsworth's 12 points and six rebounds in the first half.

Farnsworth opened the second period with a dunk and George Valle scored off of Love's steal to tie the game.  The teams then traded leads eight more times over the next six minutes.  Jurlina's basket gave Whitworth a 44-42 lead with 14:15 left and the Pirates would not trail again.

After Whitworth opened a 55-47 lead on Matt Staudacher's three-pointer, UPS pulled back within 55-52 on Keith Shattuck's three-point shot.  But Love answered for the Pirates with his own three and Whitworth would stretch the advantage out to as many as 11 points four occasions in the final minutes.

Jurlina made 8-16 of his shots from the field for his 20 points.  Farnsworth ended with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Staudacher added 14 points.  Love scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.  Whitworth finished the game making 51.7% (30-58) from the floor, despite an off-night (5-17) from beyond the arc.

The Pirates' defensive effort on NWC-leading scorer Erin Barber was strong.  Barber was held to three points on 1-6 shooting from the floor.  Shattuck stepped in to score 19 points on 5-10 shooting from three-point range.  Nick Holden posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds while Meyer came off of the bench for 12 points.

Whitworth holds a two-game lead in the NWC standings and the Pirates finish off the first half of the conference schedule on Saturday against Pacific Lutheran.